Union  Book  Store, 

148  Clay  st. 
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LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  1894. 
Accessions  No.'?Q0<5~7     Class  No.  ' 


V 


\ 


\  • 


THS 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS ; 


OB, 


MANIFESTATIONS    OF    DEITY 


WORKS    OF    ART. 


BY   THE 

KEY.  JOHN   BLAKELY, 

DRKINTILLOCH,  SCOTLAND. 


'  This  also  cometh  forth  from  the  LORD  of  Hosta, 
Which  is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and  excellent  in  working." 


NEW  YORK: 

EOBEET    CARTER    &    BROTHERS, 
No.    530   BKOADWAT. 

1856. 


Til 


PREFACE. 

jgr~ 

» 

THE  present  age  is  characterized  by  the  unprece- 
dented development  of  science  and  art.  Discovery 
eclipses  discovery  as  evolved  in  rapid  succession.  Me- 
chanical inventions  are  struggling  for  precedence,  but 
the  strife  is  short  lived.  The  transitory  interest  of  each 
vanishes  like  a  passing  meteor  before  the  rising  of  a 
brighter  luminary.  The  appearance  of  nature  is  chang- 
ing under  the  transforming  power  of  art.  The  modern 
triumphs  of  genius  are  harbingers  of  an  approaching 
physical  Millennium.  Were  it  possible  that  such  could 
be  attained  by  human  effort,  the  age  in  which  we  live 
bids  fair  to  solve  physical  problems  of  ancient  prophecy. 
But  the  record  of  those  bright  visions  regarding  the 
state  of  the  world,  discloses  the  fact  that  an  Ecclesiasti- 
cal and  Political  Millennium  must  precede,  or  at  least  ac- 
company that  which  shall  be  Physical.  The  fallen  race 
must  be  spiritually  prepared,  in  order  to  the  enjoyment 
of  a  full  disclosure  of  temporal  blessings. 

The  human  family  may  be  divided  into  two  classes — 
those  who  live  for  time  only,  and  those  who  live  in  pros- 
pect of  a  coming  eternity.  The  former  class  contem- 


IV  PREFACE. 

plates  every  object,  natural  and  artificial,  irrespective  of 
their  relations  to  God.  Among  the  latter  class  there 
are  many  who  seem  interested  in  the  work  of  personal 
redemption,  but  who  have  little  regard  to  the  manifesta- 
tions of  the  Divine  attributes  in  creation,  and  in  the 
providential  arrangements  of  this  fallen  world.  There 
are  others  who  devoutly  recognize  God  in  the  works  of 
nature,  and  in  the  plan  of  redemption,  but  jtew,  if  any, 
are  to  be  found  among  the  majority  of  professors,  who 
see  or  acknowledge  the  attributes  of  Deity  displayed  in 
the  works  of  art. 

Scientific  students  frequently  interrogate  nature  with- 
out a  sense  of  its  relations  to  the  Creator,  and  over- 
whelmed by  its  wonders,  insensibly  render  to  nature 
that  homage  which  is  due  to  God.  Theological  students 
are  not  wanting,  who  open  the  pages  of  inspiration  for 
inquiry  regarding  the  hope  of  individual  salvation,  but 
who  overlook  the  first  and  pervading  principle  of  opera- 
tion in  the  universe—  the  glory  of  God.  There  are  me- 
chanical students  who  investigate  the  material  world  in 
the  spirit  of  selfishness,  in  order  to  ascertain  how  much 
may  be  extracted  from  its  vast  resources,  for  their  per- 
sonal aggrandisement.  With  this  class  the  exposition 
of  the  Arts  tend  to  excite  the  spirit  of  covetousness,  and 
the  homage  of  their  hearts  is  divided  between  the  wor- 
ship of  Mammon  and  the  adoration  of  Genius.  But  op- 
posed to  all  these  views  and  objects,  stands  that  system 
of  divine  religion  revealed  in  the  Bible — a  system  em- 


_     .    fc- 

PREFACE.  V 

bracing  man  in  every  aspect  and  in  every  relation.  It 
exhibits  the  relation  of  every  creature  to  God,  and  claims 
the  recognition  of  the  attributes  of  Deity,  as  these  are 
manifested  in  the  material,  mental,  and  moral  spheres 
of  existence. 

Impressed  with  this  fact,  the  writer  has  sought  in 
vain  for  any  thing  approaching  to  a  general  acknowl- 
edgment of  God  in  the  works  of  Art,  even  among  those 
professing  belief  in  Divine  Revelation.  Occasional  hints 
are  found  escaping  from  the  pen  of  distinguished  writers, 
but  these  usually  pass  unheeded  by  the  mass  of  readers; 
and  the  references  seem  so  incidental,  that  the  mind  is 
constrained  to  feel  that  the  subject  was  not  esteemed  of 
much  importance  by  the  author.  Recognizing  the  su- 
premacy of  God  in  every  department  of  His  works,  and 
believing  that  dishonor  has  been  done  to  His  name  by 
the  non-recognition  of  His  attributes,  in  the  artificial 
phenomena  of  the  world,  the  author  of  the  following 
Treatise  has  felt  constrained,  by  a  solemn  sense  of  duty, 
to  submit  to  the  public  the  views  and  feelings  which,  to 
his  own  soul,  have  invested  mechanical  inventions 
with  a  halo  of  light — even  with  the  beams  of  reflected 
Divinity. 

The  elementary  thoughts  hereafter  illustrated  were 
suggested  within  the  luminous  walls  of  the  CRYSTAL 
PALACE.  Every  object  seemed  to  re-echo  the  announce- 
ment of  the  ancient  prophet — "  This  also  cometh  from 
the  LORD  of  hosts,  which  is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and 


VI  PREFACE. 

excellent  in  working."  Every  hour  devoted  to  reflection 
upon  this  subject  has  convinced  the  author  more  deeply 
of  its  vast  importance  and  lasting  interest.  Nothing  has 
diminished  the  mental  pleasure  first  realized,  save  a 
growing  consciousness  of  inability  to  grasp  the  magni- 
tude of  the  theme.  The  sources  of  illustration  are  wide 
as  the  world,  and  embrace  every  period  of  human  his- 
tory. Many  imperfections  will  doubtless  appear  to  the 
mere  critic,  but  it  is  comparatively  of  little  moment 
what  opinion  literary  circles  may  form  of  these  feeble 
efforts  to  awaken  a  new  train  of  thought,  provided  that 
general  readers  may  be  led  to  recognize  the  manifesta- 
tions of  Deity  in  artificial  phenomena,  and  consequently, 
respond  to  the  angelic  anthem — "  Glory  to  God  in  the 
highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  goodwill  toward  men." 

KIRKINTILLOCH,  November,  1855. 


CONTENTS. 


MM 

iHTBODTTCriON.... 5 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   INTRODUCTION   OF   MECHANICAL   INVENTIONS  A   PROOF   THAT 

THEY   ARE   EMANATIONS   OF   THE   WISDOM,    POWER, 

AND   GOODNESS  OF   GOD. 

Elements  of  Machinery— Mechanical  Powers  and  Forces— The  Inven- 
tor—Objection Answered— The  Arts  in  Relation  to  the  Fall— The 
Industrial  Instincts  in  Man  an  Element  in  the  Construction  of  Ma- 
chinery   15 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    GRADUAL    DEVELOPMENT  OF    MECHANICAL    INTENTIONS  AH 
EVIDENCE  THAT  THEY  ARE  COMMUNICATED  IN  AC- 
CORDANCE WITH  THE  PURPOSES  OF  GOD. 

The  Mariner's  Compass — The  Art  of  Printing — The  Steam  Engine — 
The  Spinning  Mill— The  Power  Loom— The  Railway  and  Electric 
Telegraph — Objection — Commerce  and  Railways — Relation  of  Cap- 
ital to  Railway  Development — Mineral  Relations  to  the  Construction 
and  working  of  Railways, 25 

CHAPTER  in. 

TENDENCY  OF  INVENTIONS  A  PROOF  THAT  THEY  ARE  OF  GOD. 

To  mitigate  Human  Toil— Objection— Alleviate  Suffering— Increase 
the  Sources  of  Comfort — Prolong  Rational  Life — Promote  Universal 
Peace — Produce  those  Physical  Changes  upon  Earth  which  Revela- 
tion gives  Reason  to  hope  shall  yet  be  accomplished 101 


Till  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SCRIPTURAL    EVIDENCE   THAT   MECHANICAL    INVENTIONS   ARE 
OF   GOD. 

PAOH 

The  Providence  of  God  in  Relation  to  Mechanical  Inventions — The 
Bible  Record  of  their  Rise  and  Progress—Gardening — Clothing — 
Tilling— Building— Tent-Making— Musical  Instruments— Founding 
— Special  Monuments — The  Ark — The  Tower  of  Babel — Inventions 
ascribed  to  Divine  Wisdom...  ..  151 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    INSPIRATION   OF   GENIUS    AN   EVIDENCE    THAT   MECHAN- 
ICAL  INVENTIONS   A  HE   OF   GOD. 

Inspiration  of  Genius — Legislation  and  Government — War — Mechan- 
ical—Scientific— Exposition  of  the  Arts  in  Constructing  the  Taber- 
nacle— The  Sacred  Vestments — The  Temple — Final  Consecration  of 
Genius  to  God... 196 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SCRIPTURE    RECORD  OF  INSPIRED    GENIUS    DEVOTED   TO  THE 
ORDINARY  PURPOSES  OF  SOCIAL  LIFE. 

Inspired  Wisdom  evolved  in  Agriculture— In  Architecture— In  Works 
of  Taste  and  Ornament— In  Ship-Building—In  National  Commerce- 
In  Philosophy — In  Literature — In  the  Common  Implements  of  In- 
dustry,   


CHAPTER  VII. 

INQUIRY    REGARDING    THE    SOURCE   OF   THAT   DIFFERENCE    OP 

CONCEPTION  WITH  WHICH   THE   MIND   IS  WONT   TO  VIEW 

THE   WORKS   OF   NATURE    AS   COMPARED   WITH 

MECHANICAL   INVENTIONS. 

Misconceptions  regarding  their  respective  Authors — Innate  Ten- 
dency to  exclude  God  and  to  recognize  Man — Association  of  Ideas 
with  Moral  Characteristics— Sense  stronger  than  Faith— Human 
Pride— Neglect  in  cultivating  the  Habit  of  Spiritual  Observation- 
Conclusion 262 


THE  THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS 


INTBODUCTION. 

THEOLOGY  is  that  science  which  treats  of  the 
being  and  attributes  of  God — His  relations  to  us, 
the  dispensations  of  His  providence,  His  will  with 
respect  to  our  actions,  and  His  purposes  with  re- 
gard to  our  end.  One  branch  of  this  compre- 
hensive science  is  termed  Natural  Theology,  or 
that  science  which  treats  of  the  being,  attributes, 
and  will  of  God,  as  evincible  from  the  various 
phenomena  of  created  objects.  The  first  revela- 
tion of  God  to  intelligent  beings  was  contained 
in  the  book  of  nature,  at  the  opening  of  which 
"  the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the 
sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy."  This  comprehen- 
sive volume  embraces  the  universe,  and  reveals 
to  man,  in  physical  development,  the  eternal 

decrees  of  the  all-wise  Creator.     It  is,  in  fact, 

1* 
:.  v>--  fsii  t&iit'oa  J&R  oj  osqc 


10  INTKODUCTION. 

the  elder  manuscript  of  infinite  wisdom,  replete 
in  every  page  with  internal  and  external  evidence 
of  its  Divine  Author.  "  The  heavens  declare 
the  glory  of  God  ;  and  the  firmament  sheweth 
His  handy-works."  Creation  is  the  counterpart 
of  the  eternal  purposes — the  embodiment  of  the 
Divine  thoughts,  in  specific  physical  acts,  for  the 
manifestation  of  the  attributes  of  Deity,  "  Be- 
cause that  which  may  be  known  to  God  is  mani- 
fest in  them  ;  ....  for  the  invisible  things  of 
Him  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly 
seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are 
made,  even  His  eternal  power  and  Godhead." 

The  Planet  inhabited  by  man  is  only  one  cir- 
cumscribed page  of  Nature's  illimitable  register, 
but  yet,  in  itself,  replete  with  evidence  of  the 
being  and  attributes  of  God.  Nor  is  that  evi- 
dence patent  to  the  reflective  mind  of  the  philo- 
sopher alone,  it  stands  out  in  bold  relief  for  the 
perusal  of  sentient  humanity.  The  unlettered 
peasant  receives  from  the  external  world  the 
same  sensations  as  the  learned  philosopher. 
Both  possess  similar  rational  faculties,  however 
variously  exercised,  and  consequently  both  enjoy 
access  to  Nature's  volume,  the  language  of  which 
is  none  other  than  the  re-echo  of  the  voice  of 
Deity.  Unlike  the  monopolised  stores  of  human 
literature,  the  illuminated  pages  of  this  book  are 
ever  open  to  all,  so  that  he  who  runs  may  read 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

the    stereotyped    impressions    of   the  wisdom, 
power,  and  beneficence  of  God. 

In  the  contemplation  of  terrestrial  objects, 
there  are  two  classes  of  phenomena  which  in- 
cessantly claim  attention — those  which  are  the 
immediate  work  of  God  in  creation,  and  such  as 
are  the  mechanical  productions  of  man  in  the 
progressive  development  of  science  and  art.  The 
former  class  may  be  termed  natural ;  the  latter, 
artificial.  From  the  natural  the  artificial  phe- 
nomena are  all  constructed.  In  the  natural 
every  thing  is  created  ;  in  the  artificial  every 
object  is  transformed.  God  is  the  immediate 
operator  in  the  one  department  ;  man  is  the  in- 
telligent agent  in  the  other.  While,  as  regards 
the  whole,  the  Author  of  universal  nature  is  the 
primary  source  and  rightful  proprietor  of  the 
material,  the  intermediate  agent,  and  the  work 
of  art  constructed.  In  the  natural  phenomena 
are  to  be  found  all  the  elements  of  the  artificial. 
They  have  changed  their  place  in  creation,  and 
their  elementary  forms  of  existence,  but  their 
essential  qualities  remain  the  same  under  every 
new  arrangement,  consequently  no  circumstan- 
tial changes  of  proportion,  locality,  or  figure, 
can  transfer  them  beyond  the  limits  of  His  king- 
dom— "  who  is  Lord  over  all."  "  The  silver  and 
the  gold  are  His,"  when  in  the  mint  of  theKoyal 
Treasury,  or  in  the  coffers  of  the  miser,  as 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

really  as  when  deposited  by  the  Divine  hand 
in  the  rocky  bed  of  an  Australian  river,  or  the 
hidden  caverns  of  a  Californian  mountain.  The 
iron  and  the  brass  are  his  as  really,  when  re- 
volving in  the  wheels  and  shafts  of  a  modern 
machine  as  when  in  their  elemental  ore,  buried 
fifty  fathoms  beneath  the  surface  of  the  globe. 
And  yet  this  region  of  art,  this  world-wide  crea- 
tion of  machinery,  is  one  from  which  in  the 
mental  conceptions  of  men,  the  Universal  Pro- 
prietor is  almost  entirely  excluded.  Few  indeed, 
are  to  be  found  among  mechanics  or  philosophers, 
among  even  divines,  or  public  journalists,  who 
seem  to  realize  the  fact  that  G-od  is  there,  when 
investigating  the  wonders  of  art,  or  who  feel  con- 
strained to  render  to  Deity  the  glory  due  to  His 
name,  from  this,  as  from  every  other  region  of 
His  works. 

In  proof  of  these  assertions,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  refer  to  the  fact  that  though  the  press  teems 
with  the  records  of  ancient  and  modern  dis- 
coveries in  art  and  science,  not  a  solitary  para- 
graph can  be  found  in  the  vast  majority  of 
treatises  recognising  the  hand  of  God  at  all  : 
and  in  vain  is  search  made  for  even  one  syste- 
matic volume,  presenting  a  lucid  and  compre- 
hensive illustration  of  the  wisdom,  power,  and 
goodness  of  Grod,  as  these  attributes  are  displayed 
in  mechanical  inventions.  Or,  to  make  the 


INTRODUCTION.  18 

matter  still  more  plain,  where  are  to  be  found 
emotions  of  gratitude  to  the  Giver,  or  feelings  of 
adoring  wonder  excited  in  the  breasts  of  men,  by 
the  contemplation  of  a  plow,  a  loom,  a  ship,  a 
steam-engine,  a  printing-press,  or  an  electric- 
telegraph  ?  The  invention  may  be  recorded,  its 
mechanism  admired,  its  utility  discussed,  and 
the  name  of  the  inventor  praised  and  honored ; 
but  how  rare  the  acknowledgment  of  God  as  the 
author  !  How  few  are  to  be  found  exclaiming 
with  the  Psalmist,  "  Oh  that  men  would  praise 
the  Lord  for  His  goodness,  and  for  His  wonderful 
works  to  the  children  of  men  I" 

In  discussing  the  theology  of  inventions,  it  is 
necessary  to  keep  in  view  the  designs  proposed, 
and  to  indicate  the  line  of  argument  to  be 
adopted.  Both  these  objects  may  be  attained 
by  the  following  proposition,  which  we  design  to 
prove  and  illustrate  in  the  subsequent  pages. 

That  mechanical  inventions,  in  the  discovery 
of  their  elements  and  principles,  and  in  the  con- 
struction  of  their  parts,  are,  and  ought  to  be 
viewed  as  emanations  of  the  wisdom,  power,  and 
beneficence  of  God. 

This  proposition  may  be  proved  philosophically 
from  reason,  and  theologically  from  revelation. 
Both  these  lines  of  argument  shall  be  pursued  in 
the  elucidation  of  the  subject. 

In  proving  from  reason  that  artificial  pheno- 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

mena,  or  mechanical  inventions  are  of  God,  a 
multitude  of  arguments  might  be  adduced,  but 
only  three  are  selected — the  Fact ;  the  Time  ; 
and  the  Tendency  of  their  Discovery. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  INTRODUCTION  OP  MECHANICAL  INVENTIONS  A  PROOF  THAT 
THEY  ARE  EMANATIONS  OP  THE  WISDOM,  POWER,  AND  GOOD- 
NESS OP  GOD. 

IN  the  early  history  of  the  human  family 
mechanical  inventions  had  no  existence,  save  in 
the  purpose  of  God,  and  in  their  original  ele- 
ments, as  parts  of  creation- work.  Surveying  the 
world,  even  from  Paradise,  what  finite  being  could 
have  predicted  their  future  development  ?  The 
first  man,  notwithstanding  his  knowledge  of 
nature,  knew  not  the  necessities  of  a  fallen  race, 
and  consequently  he  could  form  no  conception  of 
that  provision  which  infinite  wisdom  had  made 
for  the  mitigation  of  physical  evil,  and  the  future 
elevation  of  his  descendants.  Implements  of 
industry  he  might  require,  and,  perhaps,  be  pro- 
vided with  for  the  cultivation  of  that  garden 
which  he  was  commanded  to  dress  and  keep  ; 
but  of  rooting  out  the  thorn  and  the  thistle — 
productions  of  the  curse  ;  of  manufacturing 
clothing — the  permanent  want  of  a  fallen  state  ; 
of  building  or  furnishing  habitations,  in  accord- 


16  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

ance  with  circumstances  and  climate,  in  a  world 
whose  elements  and  seasons  were  affected  by  the 
introduction  of  moral  evil ;  or  of  the  implements 
necessary  for  the  construction  of  these,  he  could 
have  no  idea  in  a  state  of  innocence.  The  world 
was  destitute  of  machinery  on  that  fatal  day 
when  offended  Deity  "drove  out  the  man." 
Natural  phenomena  might  retain  much  of  its 
pristine  freshness  and  beauty,  but  then  artificial 
phenomena  had  no  visible  existence.  The  whole 
world  did  not  exhibit  one  artificial  human  dwell- 
ing, while  the  entire  wardrobe  of  our  first  parents, 
when  thrust  forth  from  the  garden,  was  comprised 
in  the  fig-leaf  aprons  where  witli  they  were  covered. 
Contrast  with  this  the  magnificent  cities  of 
ancient  or  modern  times — the  wide-spread  cul- 
tivation of  the  earth — the  trackless  ocean  navi- 
gated— the  subterranean  mines  of  wealth  dis- 
closed— the  human  family  clothed,  and  fed,  and 
domiciled  in  comfort — knowledge  circulated  for 
the  million,  and  human  thoughts  wafted  on  the 
wings  of  the  lightning.  Contrast  again  the  natural 
phenomena  of  that  world  into  which  Adam  was 
thrust  out  with  the  artificial  phenomena  which  it 
now  exhibits,  under  the  industrial  arts  of  his  de- 
scendants, and  will  any  reflecting  mind  be  pre- 
pared to  say  that  man,  and  man  only,  is  to  be 
recognized  as  the  author  of  every  successive  de- 
velopment of  the  mechanical  inventions  ? 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  17 


ELEMENTS   OF   MACHINERY. 

While  investigating  mechanical  inventions, 
the  question  naturally  arises.  What  are  their  con- 
stituent elements  ?  What  their  mechanical 
powers  ?  Whence  their  origin  ?  By  whom  have 
their  materials  been  discovered,  and  their  various 
parts  constructed  ?  As  regards  their  native  ele- 
ments, the  most  complicated,  as  well  as  the 
simplest,  may  be  traced  to  three  sources — the 
mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal  kingdoms.  Take 
a  hand-loom,  or  a  spinning-mill  ;  analyze  their 
entire  machinery,  and  it  will  be  found  that  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  have  contributed  their  por- 
tion of  iron  or  brass,  or  other  elements.  The 
surface  of  the  globe  has  produced  the  wood,  the 
hemp,  the  flax,  the  cotton,  the  oil,  and  other 
vegetable  products.  The  animal  kingdom  has 
furnished  the  leather,  the  bone,  the  hair,  the 
grease,  and  all  the  different  substances  brought 
into  requisition.  These  materials  have  no  nat- 
ural relation — no  chemical  affinities,  no  self- 
approximating  influences,  no  self-adjusting  pro- 
perties. Drawn  from  three  distinct  kingdoms  in 
nature,  they  are,  by  a  mechanical  combination, 
made  to  assume  an  entirely  new  form — to  occupy 
a  new  place,  and  to  accomplish  a  new  purpose. 
The  mineral  elements  have  been  extracted  from 
the  regions  of  darkness.  They  have  been 


18  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

smelted,  moulded,  or  beaten  into  a  thousand 
forms.  The  wood  has  been  hewn  by  the  axe, 
divided  by  the  saw,  smoothed  by  the  plane,  and 
fitted  by  mechanical  tools,  before  it  assumed  its 
place  in  conjunction  with  the  brass  and  the  iron. 
The  flax  and  the  hemp  have  been  watered,  dried, 
the  fibre  separated  from  the  stem,  drawn  out 
and  twisted  by  machinery,  before  it  could  be 
used  in  binding  the  lighter  parts  of  the  wood 
and  the  iron.  And  in  the  products  of  the  animal 
kingdom  there  are  similar  transformations.  The 
outer  covering  which  protected  and  beautified 
the  body  of  the  horse,  the  ox,  or  the  sheep,  hag 
been  stripped  off  by  the  hand  of  violence — divest 
ed  of  its  hair  or  wool,  impregnated  by  the  art  of 
the  tanner  with  lime  from  the  mineral  kingdom, 
with  the  juice  of  astringent  barks  from  the  vege- 
table kingdom,  and  oils  from  the  animal  king- 
dom, before  it  could  take  a  place  in  the  re- 
volving bands  of  the  spinning-mill,  or  furnish 
an  element  in  forming  the  more  simple  driving- 
pin  of  the  hand-loom.  The  same  analysis,  ap- 
plied to  any  other  specimen  of  machinery  will 
reduce  its  constituent  elements  to  one  or  other, 
or  all  of  these  kingdoms.  Let  the  mind  reflect 
upon  this  threefold  source  of  material  sub- 
stances, from  which  all  the  mechanical  inven- 
tions in  the  world  have  been,  or  are  being,  or 
shall  be  constructed,  and  let  it  be  remembered 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  19 

that  these  are  only  elements,  and  cannot  of 
themselves  assume  the  form,  or  exert  the  power 
of  the  simplest  machine.  But  they  are  elements 
provided  by  the  God  of  infinite  wisdom  for 
the  very  purposes  to  which  man  has  been  taught 
to  apply  them. 

The  world  itself,  in  its  geological  construction, 
as  well  as  in  its  vegetable  and  animal  adapta- 
tions, is  none  other  than  a  divine  depository  of 
exhaustless  resources,  from  which  man  may  draw 
forth  and  appropriate  whatever  tends  to  his 
physical  comfort  and  mental  progress.  But  here, 
as  in  every  other  department,  the  forethought  is 
more  than  human,  while  the  power  and  benefi- 
cence are  evidently  divine.  The  adjustment  in 
every  region  is  such  as  to  confound  the  most 
reckless  sceptics.  The  minerals  have  been 
stowed  away  in  the  subterranean  caverns  of  the 
earth  so  that  they  might  not  destroy  its  vege- 
table productions  by  their  deleterious  gases,  de- 
form its  beauty  by  their  unsightly  appearance, 
or  impede  the  operations  of  the  animal  kingdom 
by  abridging  the  extent,  or  rendering  unfruitful 
the  surface  of  the  globe.  They  are  neither  so 
near  the  circumference  of  the  earth  as  to  induce 
indolence,  nor  so  deeply  deposited  as  to  elude 
the  search  of  human  ingenuity.  The  outer  stra- 
tum seems  as  if  designed  to  meet  the  wants  and 
stimulate  the  ardor  of  a  barbarous  age,  while 


-0  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

the  inner  stores  of  mineral  wealth  are  so  depos- 
ited as  to  test  the  highest  achievements  of  me- 
chanical skill — to  draw  out  the  accumulating 
stores  of  knowledge — and  to  excite  the  latent 
principles  of  art  and  industry.  Can  all  this  pro- 
vision be  laid  up  since  creation,  or  formed  in 
successive  geologic  periods  by  unknown  influ- 
ences in  the  mineral  kingdom,  without  a  definite 
design  ?  Keflect  again  upon  the  vegetable  and 
animal  kingdoms,  as  stored  by  creative  power, 
and  preserved  by  Divine  Providence.  The 
former  was  furnished  with  trees,  and  plants,  and 
herbs,  each  bearing  seed  and  propagating  its 
species  after  its  kind.  The  latter  was  stocked 
with  all  the  varied  forms  of  animal  life,  having 
the  earth,  the  air,  the  -sea,  as  their  appointed 
regions,  and  under -the  pristine  law  of  life  to 
multiply  and  replenish  the  world  from  age  to  age. 
Could  all  this  provision  be  made  for  the  construc- 
tion of  machinery  without  that  wisdom  which  is 
infinite,  that  power  which  is  almighty,  and  that 
goodness  which  is  boundless  ? 

MECHANICAL   POWERS   AND   FORCES. 

These  elements,  however  bountifully  provided 
in  the  kingdoms  of  nature,  would  be  entirely 
useless  for  the  construction  of  the  simplest 
machine,  unless  accompanied  by  mechanical 
principles  or  laws,  which  are  universal  in  ex- 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  21 

tension,  and  immutable  in  operation.  The 
entire  range  of  mechanical  inventions  may  be 
reduced  to  a  few  primary  machines,  which,  in 
natural  philosophy,  are  termed  mechanical 
powers.  These  have  been  usually  treated  of  as 
six — the  lever,  the  wheel,  the  axle,  the  inclined 
plane,  the  wedge,  the  screw,  and  the  funicular 
machine.  It  is  evident  that  these  six  may  be 
reduced  to  three — the  lever,  the  funicular  ma- 
chine, and  the  inclined  plane ;  and  from  two  of 
them — the  lever  and  the  inclined  plane,  the 
other  three  are  formed.  From  the  varied  com- 
binations of  these  all  machinery  is  constructed. 

But  these  mechanical  powers,  as  well  as  the 
material  substances,  would  of  themselves  be  un- 
availing for  general  purposes  in  machinery 
without  moving  forces  to  originate  and  sustain 
their  varied  motions  and  revolutions.  These 
again  are  liberally  supplied  in  the  wide  domain 
of  nature  for  the  use  of  man,  in  the  development 
and  application  of  the  arts  of  industry.  The 
moving  powers  have  usually  been  treated  of  as 
follows :  The  muscular  strength  of  men  and 
animals,  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  the 
expansive  force  of  steam,  and  the  action  of  wind 
or  water.  These  may  also  be  referred  indirectly 
to  three  independent  sources —gravity,  heat,  and 
animal  strength.  The  earlier  development  of 
machinery  exhibited  only  the  application  of 


22  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

animal  strength;  the  present  state  displays  the 
general  use  of  windy  water,  steam,  and  ex- 
plosive substances ;  but,  doubtless,  in  the  onward 
march  of  discovery,  electricity  will  soon  come  to 
occupy  a  common  place  among  the  moving 
powers,  and  the  world  will  be  as  much  aston- 
ished when  a  "  feed  of  zinc  and  water"  shall 
supersede  a  "  feed  of  coke,"  as  it  was  when  a  "  feed 
of  coke"  superseded  a  "  feed  of  corn,"  and  the  iron 
wheels  of  the  engine  completely  distanced  the 
fleetest  and  best  directed  steed.  Now,  let  it  be 
remembered  that  all  these  latent  principles, 
mechanical  powers,  and  moving  forces  are  fur- 
nished in  nature,  and  have  been  existing  since 
creation,  as  provided  for  the  use  of  man  in  his 
present  condition.  Does  not  each,  in  the  region 
of  natural  phenomena,  and  do  not  all,  in  their 
mechanical  combinations,  proclaim  the  presence 
and  power  of  Deity  ? 

THE  INVENTOR. 

Having  discovered  the  materials  from  which 
machines  are  constructed,  and  the  mechanical 
principles,  powers,  and  forces  upon  which  their 
operations  depend,  the  question  which  now  de- 
mands solution  is,  by  what  agency  were  these 
created  materials,  superinduced  principles,  and 
external  forces  all  combined,  and  rendered  ca- 
pable of  transforming  other  mineral,  vegetable, 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  23 

and  animal  substances  into  forms,  and  fabrics 
suitable  for  nourishing,  clothing,  protecting,  and 
enlightening  men.  Here  we  not  only  reach  but 
cross  the  boundary  line  between  the  material  and 
the  spiritual.  The  agent  is  man,  and  in  his 
constitution  there  is  a  combination  of  the  mental 
and  physical,  but  both  are  brought  into  active 
operation  in  the  construction  of  machinery.  His 
body  is  formed  of  the  dust  by  a  Divine  hand,  and 
his  breath  is  breathed  into  his  nostrils  by  an 
Almighty  Spirit.  That  body  in  itself  presents 
some  of  the  most  wonderful  and  perfect  speci- 
mens of  mechanical  phenomena.  "  The  anatomy 
of  man,"  says  Galen,  "  discovers  above  six  hun- 
dred muscles,  and  whoever  only  considers  these, 
will  find  that  in  each  of  them  nature  must 
have,  at  least,  adjusted  ten  different  circum- 
stances, in  order  to  attain  the  end  proposed — 
proper  figure,  just  magnitude,  right  disposition 
of  the  several  ends,  upper  and  lower  position  of 
the  whole,  and  the  due  insertion  of  the  several 
nerves  and  arteries  ;  so  that,  in  the  muscles  alone, 
above  six  thousand  several  views  and  intentions 
must  have  been  formed  and  executed."  He  cal- 
culated the  bones  to  be  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
four,  and  the  distinct  purposes  aimed  at  in  the 
structure  of  each  above  forty.  This  makes 
eleven  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty  ! 
What  a  prodigious  display  of  artifice  even  in 


24  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

these  simple  and  homogeneous  parts !  But 
if  we  consider  the  skin,  ligaments,  vessels, 
glands,  humors,  and  the  several  limbs  and 
members  of  the  body,  how  must  our  astonish- 
ment rise  in  proportion  to  the  number  and  in- 
tricacy of  the  parts  so  artificially  adjusted  !  Who 
can  survey  this  wonderful  structure  without  ad- 
miring the  wisdom  and  power  of  the  Architect  ? 
How  appropriate  the  language  of  the  Psalmist, 
"  I  am  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made."  Now 
this  body  of  man  is  the  primary  instrument — 
the  living  machine,  by  which  the  God  of  provi- 
dence discloses  the  wonders  of  the  entire  region 
of  artificial  phenomena.  In  nature  God  employs 
intermediate  causes  to  produce  the  designed 
physical  effects,  so  in  like  manner,  when  the 
Divine  purposes  of  goodness  and  wisdom  are 
to  be  embodied  in  the  production  of  mechanical 
phenomena,  man  is  the  intermediate  agent  com- 
missioned to  construct  them — the  mental  causa- 
tion of  their  new  existence.  But  for  his  wants, 
machinery  would  be  unnecessary,  and  but  for 
his  mental  and  physical  endowments  for  labor, 
the  minerals,  vegetables,  and  animals  might  run 
to  waste  without  any  new  form  of  mechanical 
beauty  or  utility  being  added  to  the  phenomena 
of  the  world. 

Without  the  human  hand  how  would   dis- 
coveries be   made  in  science,   or  the  arts   de- 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  25 

veloped  ?  A  few  operations  might  be  performed, 
such  as  are  common  to  some  of  the  irrational 
creatures,  but  progress  would  be  utterly  impos- 
sible. The  hand  is  the  organ  of  prehension, 
which  readily  seizes  and  secures  bodies  of  every 
form,  and  of  such  dimensions  and  weight  as  are 
capable  of  being  moved  by  the  arms  of  man.  It 
has  been  well  remarked  that  had  the  hand  been 
undivided  it  could  only  have  held  such  a  portion 
of  any  mass  as  was  equal  to  itself ;  but,  as  it  is, 
by  separating  the  fingers,  it  can  encompass  one 
larger  than  itself;  and,  by  compressing  two  of 
them  together,  it  can  safely  hold  a  minute  ob- 
ject. Besides,  as  some  bodies  are  too  large  to 
be  held  by  one  hand  alone,  we  are  endowed  with 
two  inclining  towards,  and  precisely  adapted  to 
each  other.  The  sensibilities  of  the  hand,  in 
respect  of  touch,  are  not  less  remarkable,  as  at 
once  determining  the  nature  of  substances,  as 
regards  hardness  and  softness,  roughness  and 
smoothness,  fineness  and  coarseness,  heaviness 
and  lightness,  hotness  and  coldness.  While  the 
eye  scans  material  elements,  the  hand  grasps 
them,  completes  the  scrutiny  which  the  organ  of 
vision  had  begun,  and  then  applies  them  to 
practical  purposes.  By  the  hand  they  are  ar- 
rested and  shaped  anew  and  combined  in  curious 
mechanism  to  form  this,  or  that  machine. 

But  while  we  speak  of  the  human  hand,  or  the 
2 


26  THEOLOGY   OF   INVI^TIONS. 

human  body,  as  the  constructor  of  every  form  of 
mechanical  phenomena,  we  necessarily  indicate 
mental  operations.  There  must  be  a  motive 
power,  propelling,  directing,  and  controlling  this 
material  organism.  The  moving  power  is*  the 
mind — the  spiritual  part  of  man's  nature.  It 
has  been  already  shewn  that  the  material  sub- 
stances and  mechanical  powers  could  not  be  of 
general  utility  without  moving  forces,  so  here, 
even  the  human  body  could  be  of  no  utility  in  the 
construction  of  machinery  without  the  reasoning 
powers  of  the  mind.  In  this  case  the  physical 
organization  is  inhabited  by  a  living,  thinking 
agency — a  spiritual  motive  power  within,  whose 
volitions  are  the  moving  springs — the  originating 
cause  of  the  external  movements  of  every  joint, 
and  muscle,  and  limb.  The  mind  thinks  re- 
garding an  end  in  view,  and  the  volitions  of  the 
will  propel  the  feet  towards  a  chosen  object,  and 
move  the  hands  by  which  it  is  appropriated  for 
a  given  purpose.  The  mind  reflects  and  reasons 
regarding  the  end  to  be  attained,  and  the  means 
provided,  adjudging  the  proportions,  and  plan- 
ning the  various  parts  of  the  machine  ;  which 
ultimately  takes  its  form  from  the  arranging 
mechanical  hand  of  the  artist.  Nor  is  the  mind 
the  contriver  only  ;  its  volitions  direct  every  part 
of  the  execution.  It  is, -in  fact,  the  moving 
power,  without  which  the  hand  becomes  para- 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  27 

lysed,  the  eye  ceases  to  observe,  and  the  whole 
machinery  of  the  human  system  ceases  to  operate, 
and  the  elements  of  nature  retain  forever  their 
original  form  of  existence. 

Let  it  then  be  kept  in  view  that  the  whole 
development  of  artificial  phenomena  is  the  result 
of  human  ingenuity,  the  discovery  and  construc- 
tion of  human  effort,  and  that  every  mechanical 
hand  has  been  directed  and  moved  by  an  intellec- 
tual agency,  then  it  will  appear  that  the  progress 
of  science,  and  the  development  of  art,  are  but 
the  historic  records  of  man's  mental  and  physical 
capabilities.  Thus— as  has  been  already  shewn — 
while  the  earth  is  replenished  as  a  vast  magazine 
of  materials,  man,  the  sentient  being,  is  con- 
stituted the  artizan  in  the  midst  of  these,  that 
as  a  philosopher,  he  may  discover  their  existence, 
and,  as  a  mechanic,  apply  them  to  their  respec- 
tive uses.  But  though  a  microcosm  within 
himself,  and  though  giving  form  to  every  object 
in  the  world-wide  circle  of  the  industrial  arts, 
he  is,  nevertheless,  but  a  monument  of  the 
wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  of  Deity — an  in- 
strument in  the  Divine  hand,  by  which  the  God 
of  providence  effects  those  transformations  up- 
on material  substances  which  infinite  wisdom 
has  planned,  and  almighty  power  will  duly 
accomplish.  The  most  exalted  philosopher, 
the  most  distinguished  genius,  the  most  skilful 


28  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

mechanic,  occupies  only  a  place  in  the  wide  do- 
main of  creation  as  a  servant,  and  fulfills  his 
appointed  mission  in  the  mysterious  develop- 
ments of  Providence.  However  high  he  may 
soar  upon  the  wings  of  genius  above  his  contem- 
poraries, he  is  not  a  God  to  create  one  solitary 
element  in  the  field  of  nature,  or  to  bring  into 
operation  one  primary  power,  or  to  construct  a 
machine  absolutely  original.  His  work  is  to  dis- 
cover, apply,  and  exhibit,  in  new  combinations, 
those  elements,  proportions,  and  principles  which 
have  had  a  place  in  the  Divine  mind  from 
eternity,  and  which  have  been  amply  provided 
for  in  the  primary  and  progressive  acts  of  crea- 
tion. It  is  thus,  that  while  angels  are  com- 
missioned to  loose  the  seals  of  the  mysterious 
book  of  Providence,  men  are  employed  to  unlock 
the  treasury  of  nature  ;  and  by  the  application  of 
mechanical  laws  to  material  substances,  to  bring 
into  operation  an  entirely  new  class  of  objects, 
designed  at  once  to  show  forth  the  glory  of  God, 
and  promote  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  the 
human  family. 

But  while  the  objects  mechanically  made  are 
superinduced  upon  nature,  they  are  not  new 
creations.  Mechanical  inventions  are  but  the 
gradual  development  of  nature's  elements  in  new 
forms,  in,  new  relations,  and  adapted  to  new 
purposes.  Besides,  it  would  be  no  difficult  task 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  29 

to  shew,  that  in  nature  itself  are  to  be  found  the 
primary  suggestions — the  elementary  models  of 
all  artificial  mechanism.  Much  that  passes  for 
invention  in  the  works  of  art  is  merely  an  imi- 
tation of  nature,  and  that  which  constitutes  the 
most  complicated  machinery  is  simply  the  ex- 
pansion, or  new  combinations  of  those  primary 
examples.  Thus  Pope  well  remarks,  regarding 
man,  that  he  will 

"  The  art  of  building  from  the  bee  receive, 
Learn  of  the  mole  to  plough ;  the  worm  to  weave  ; 
Learn  of  the  little  nautilus  to  sail, 
Spread  the  thin  oar,  and  catch  the  driving  gale." 

It  is  here,  however,  that  reason  rises  transcend- 
ently  above  the  most  peculiar  of  the  animal 
instincts.  The  latter  can  do  much  ;  can  do  all 
that  is  necessary  for  the  preservation  and  enjoy- 
ment of  irrational  life.  But  though  they  are 
perfect  in  their  kind,  they  are  absolutely  sta- 
tionary. 

"The  winged  inhabitants  of  Paradise 
"Wove  their  first  nests  as  curiously  and  well 
As  the  wood  minstrels  of  our  evil  day." 

Whereas  human  ingenuity  pursues  a  steady 
course  of  discovery,  and  marks  each  succeeding 
age  with  its  well  defined  monuments  of  scientific 
progress.  But  while  reason  soars  sublimely  above 
the  achievements  of  instinct,  and  while,  in  the 


30  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

advancement  of  human  knowledge,  one  genera- 
tion looks  back  with  wonder  at  the  feeble  efforts 
of  genius  in  a  preceding  age,  and  forward  with  an- 
ticipation to  the  future  triumphs  of  science  soon 
to  be  disclosed,  yet,  this  elevation,  or  mental 
expansion,  is  but  relative — but  different  degrees 
of  mental  development  in  the  creature.  Ascend 
high  as  it  may  in  any  future  age  ;  penetrate 
though  it  should  through  the  hitherto  hidden 
strata  of  the  mineral  deposits  ;  encircle  though 
it  shall  the  entire  surface  of  the  globe  with  the 
trophies  of  genius,  it  approaches  not  the  infinite; 
it  bursts  not  the  bounds  of  creation ;  it  produces 
nothing  unforeseen,  or  unprovided  for,  in  the  stu- 
pendous plans  of  infinite  wisdom. 

"  To  improve  and  expand  is  ours,  as  well  as  to  limit  and 

defeat ; 

But  to  create  a  thought  or  a  thing  is  hopeless  and  im- 
possible."* 

OBJECTION  ANSWERED. 

Some  may  object  to  this  theory,  and  be  ready 
to  ask,  Do  you  make  man  only  an  instrument  ? 
Do  you  place  him  in  the  same  category,  with  his 
reason,  as  the  irrational  animals  with  their  in- 
sfinct  ?  Is  not  a  man  a  free  and  moral  agent  ?  Is 
he  not  a  being  capable  of  vast  elevation  in  the 
proper  exercise  of  his  mental  faculties  ?  Will 

*  Proverbial  Philosophy. 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  31 

you  divest  him  of  the  glory  of  his  genius  and 
mechanical  skill  ?  To  this  it  is  replied  :  Man 
is,  indeed,  an  instrument,  though  a  free  and 
moral  agent.  The  gift  of  reason,  though  it  con- 
stitutes him  a  free,  does  not  necessarily  render 
him  an  independent  agent.  He  can  reason  and 
j  plan,  and  operate  upon  given  materials.  He  can 
appropriate  and  arrange  them  in  accordance 
with  a  definite  design  ;  but  all  these  operations, 
whether  mental  or  physical,  are  conducted  within 
given  limits — the  limits  of  finite  capacity  and 
relative  circumstances.  No  elevation  or  expan- 
sion of  his  intellectual  faculties ;  no  degree  of 
physical  capability,  can  raise  him  above  the  rank 
of  a  creature,  or  render  him  independent  of  the 
Almighty  Creator.  It  is  admitted  that  he  rises 
transcendently  above  the  most  sagacious  of  "the 
beasts  that  perish,"  but  it  is  only  by  so  many 
degrees  in  a  finite  scale,  which,  in  its  loftiest 
elevation,  can  bear  no  proportion  to  the  infinite. 
He  can,  in  his  own  appropriate  sphere,  work  out 
the  plans  of  infinite  wisdom.  He  can,  in  the 
exercise  of  reason,  discover,  and  apply  what  God 
has  provided  and  bestowed  for  his  sustenance 
and  comfort ;  but  this  can  never  constitute  him 
proprietor,  either  of  his  own  faculties  and  phy- 
sical adaptations,  or  of  those  elements  upon 
which  his  genius  and  skill  have  produced  such 
vast  transformations.  He  is  to  be  viewed  rather 


32  .        THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

as  the  exhibitor  than  the  original  designer  ;  as 
the  servant  disclosing  the  hidden  riches  of  his 
master,  rather  than  the  proprietor  setting  forth 
his  peculiar  treasures.  Indeed  the  artizan  and 
his  work  are  both  designed  to  shew  forth  the 
glory  of  one  Divine  Author.  In  the  exhibition 
of  redemption  men  are  represented  as  "  workers 
together  with  God/'  when  they  employ  the  means 
which  infinite  wisdom  has  prescribed ;  so,  in  like 
manner,  the  inventor  of  machinery,  irrespective 
of  his  moral  characteristics  or  designs,  becomes 
a  fellow- worker  with  God  in  the  physical  world — 
an  instrument  by  which  the  divine  plans  for  the 
benefit  of  the  human  race  are  accomplished. 
He  stands  in  the  position  of  one  whose  province 
it  is  to  search  out  and  display  the  boundless  re- 
sources of  the  Divine  Proprietor.  He  is  com- 
manded to  "  subdue  the  earth ;"  that  is,  by 
industry  to  discover,  and  to  appropriate  what 
infinite  goodness  has  provided  for  the  mitigation 
of  the  curse,  and  the  physical  renovation  of  a 
fallen  world. 

It  is  freely  admitted  that  the  man  who  makes 
a  discovery,  or  who  invents  an  original  machine, 
ought  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  labor,  and 
ought  to  be  honored  by  his  fellow-men  as  a 
public  benefactor.  But,  when  viewed  in  his  re- 
lation to  God,  the  Author  of  all  that  is  material 
in  his  machine,  and  of  all  that  is  mental  in  its 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  33 

plan  and  construction,  he  is  only  a  servant,  and, 
as  such  cannot  usurp  the  claims  of  his  Master. 
While  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  reward,  and 
ought  to  be  recognized  by  tokens  of  gratitude, 
the  glory,  in  its  high  and  proper  sense,  belongs 
to  God.  It  is  true,  in  the  experience  of  the 
world,  that  at  certain  epochs  peculiar  discoveries 
have  been  made  which  have  completely  changed 
the  currents  of  human  history.  With  these 
discoveries  stand  associated  distinguished  names 
through  coming  generations.  But  how  limited 
are  the  conceptions  of  the  most  celebrated  philo- 
sophers or  inventors  of  machinery  ?  Sir  Isaac 
Newton  could  scan  the  heavens,  and  calculate 
the  distances,  densities,  and  velocities  of  suns 
and  systems,  and  yet  might  be  very  ignorant 
of  the  method  of  constructing  some  of  the 
simplest  machines.  James  Watt  could  form 
his  models,  and  study  the  powers  of  steam  until 
he  astonished  the  world  by  his  locomotive 
engine,  and  yet,  with  regard  to  thousands  of 
other  problems  in  art  and  science,  he  might  be 
profoundly  ignorant.  And  thus  it  is  found  in 
every  other  department.  Yet  even  one  happy 
discovery  is  sufficient  to  render  the  name  of  the 
inventor  illustrious,  though  the  development  of 
all  will  scarcely  lead  the  human  mind  up  to  God 
the  author.  By  the  invention  of  one  machine 
the  entire  stock  of  individual  genius  may  be 
2* 


34  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

exhausted — the  sands  of  life  may  be  run  out  ere 
the  invention  has  proved  its  utility.  It  is  thus 
that  rnany  benefactors  of  the  race  have  sunk  in 
penury,  while  their  discoveries  have  enriched 
the  world.  What  is  then  the  boasted  genius  of 
the  most  distinguished  inventor,  which  is  thus 
absorbed  and  expended  upon  one  solitary  object, 
compared  with  the  mind  of  the  infinite,  which 
grasped  from  eternity,  in  one  embrace  of  benev- 
olence to  man,  the  entire  region  of  artificial 
phenomena  ?  How  vast  that  mind  which  is  able  to 
comprehend  the  entire  system  of  things  celestial 
and  terrestrial,  past,  present,  or  yet  to  be  unfolded ! 
How  amazing  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  Him 
who  created  the  earth  for  a  holy  being,  and  yet 
adapted  it  to  the  circumstances  of  his  posterity 
as  fallen  !  How  wonderful  that  foreknowledge 
which  adapted  the  material  world  to  the  mental 
constitution  of  the  human  race,  so  that  man  be- 
comes at  once  the  exponent  of  the  physical  world 
and  the  reflector  of  the  spiritual !  Nor  is  this 
the  privilege  of  the  distinguished  philosopher 
only.  Amid  the  thousand  departments  of  science 
and  art,  of  speculative  philosophy  and  practical 
life,  the  humblest,  as  well  as  the  most  exalted 
genius,  may  comprehend  at  least  some  portion 
of  the  mechanical  phenomena,  and  fulfill  his 
mission  by  contributing  his  part  to  the  produc- 
tion of  the  whole.  It  is  thus  that  the  one  com- 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  35 

prehensive  plan  of  infinite  wisdom  furnishes 
scope  for  innumerable  efforts — for  all  varieties 
of  taste  and  talent,  while  affording  to  each  the 
distinguished  privilege  of  furnishing  his  part  in 
the  accomplishment  of  the  common  design. 
Thus  human  interests  and  human  genius  har- 
moniously unite  in  the  development  of  the 
world's  resources — in  filling  up  the  original 
scheme  of  divine  providence,  while  all  are  per- 
mitted 

"  To  join 

Their  partial  movements  with  the  master  wheel 
Of  the  great  world,  and  serve  that  sacred  end, 
"Which  He  the  unerring  reason  keeps  in  view." 

Viewed  in  this  aspect,  machinery  becomes  the 
type  of  mental  and  physical  capabilities  ;  and, 
consequently,  if  the  work  of  art  is  admired,  how 
much  more  will  admiration  rise  in  the  contem- 
plation of  those  mental  powers  and  physical 
adaptations  by  which,  from  the  elements  of  na- 
ture, the  whole  machinery  of  the  world  has  been 
evolved.  It  has  been  well  remarked  by  Cole- 
ridge, that,  "as  a  fruit-tree  is  more  valuable 
than  any  one  of  its  fruits  singly,  or  even  all  its 
fruit  of  a  single  season,  so  the  noblest  object  of 
reflection  is  the  mind  itself,  by  which  we  reflect. 
And  as  the  blossoms,  the  green  and  ripe  fruit  of 
an  orange  tree,  are  more  beautiful  to  behold 
when  on  the  tree,  and  seen  as  one  with  it,  than 


36  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

the  same  growth  detached  and  seen  successively 
after  their  importation  into  another  country  and 
different  clime,  so  is  it  with  the  manifold  objects 
of  reflection  when  they  are  considered  principally 
in  reference  to  the  reflective  power,  and  as  part 
and  parcel  of  the  same.  No  object,  of  whatever 
value  our  passions  may  represent  it,  but  becomes 
foreign  to  us  as  soon  as  it  is  altogether  uncon- 
nected with  our  intellectual,  moral  and  spiritual 
life.  To  be  ours  it  must  be  referred  to  the  mind 
either  as  motive,  or  consequence  or  symptom." 
If  then  the  fruit-tree  is  more  valuable  than  any 
of  its  fruits,  and  the  produce  in  its  native  state, 
as  attached  to  and  growing  out  of  the  tree,  more 
beautiful  and  interesting  than  when  ultimately 
plucked,  so  the  progressive  development  of 
science  and  art  is  most  instructive  and  most  in- 
teresting when  considered  in  its  relation  to  man 
as  the  exponent  of  his  mental  and  physical  capa- 
bilities. Thus,  in  the  philosophy  and  history  of 
artificial  phenomena,  man  himself  occupies  the 
foreground  in  our  mental  conceptions ;  and, 
while  we  trace  the  development  of  the  arts  to 
the  human  constitution,  and  to  the  conditions 
and  circumstances  which  gave  birth  to  industry, 
we  are  prone  to  give  up  our  inquiry  as  if  we  had 
here  reached  the  author.  But  here,  again,  the 
aphorism  quoted  holds  specially  true  ;  for  man 
himself  is  but  one  of  the  fruits  of  infinite  wisdom 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  37 

and  almighty  power,  and,  consequently,  ought 
to  be  viewed  in  all  his  mental  and  physical  de- 
velopments in  relation  to  the  purposes  and  plans 
of  the  Universal  Proprietor.  That  divine  mind 
which  planned  the  entire  scheme  of  the  world's 
physical  economy,  also  embraced  the  creation  of 
all  the  secondary  agents  and  elements  destined 
to  produce  certain  effects.  The  reasoning,  re- 
flecting, operating  mechanical  agent  is  his,  as 
much  as  the  mineral,  vegetable,  or  animal  sub- 
stances upon  which  he  operates,  or  the  latent  causes 
in  nature,  which  are  incessantly  producing  che- 
mical effects.  The  variety  of  artificial  pheno- 
mena is  then  to  be  viewed  as  the  type  of  mental 
and  physical  variety,  while  the  spirit  of  industry, 
as  a  whole,  becomes  the  exhibition  of  infinite 
wisdom,  power,  and  goodness. 

The  capability  of  man  in  seizing  material 
substances,  and  evolving  latent  principles,  so 
that  inanimate  machinery  is  made  to  occupy  the 
place  of  human  hands,  has  been  admired  in 
every  age.  The  perfection  of  form,  and  the 
precision  of  operation  attained,  have  elicited  the 
highest  eulogiurns  towards  the  inventors  or  me- 
chanics of  modern  machinery.  But  the  most 
perfect  instrument  ever  invented  comes  infinitely 
short  of  that  perfection  which  characterizes  the 
human  system — add  to  this  the  mind  as  a  mo- 
tive power  within,  moving,  directing,  controlling, 


38  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

and  restraining  all  the  physical  operations  in 
the  mechanical  world  ;  and  is  there  not  here  an 
agent  which  rises  transcendently  above  every 
other  instrument  of  a  terrestrial  kind,  in  working 
out  the  purposes  of  the  God  of  Providence  ?  If 
we  admire  the  displaj^s  of  infinite  wisdom  and 
goodness,  in  creating  and  preserving  the  material 
elements,  from  which  implements  of  industry 
are  constructed,  what  shall  we  say  in  the  con- 
templation of  this  living  instrument — this  rea- 
soning, self-acting  machine,  by  which  all  others 
are  brought  into  operation  ?  shall  we  not  exclaim 
with  the  Psalmist  ?  "  0  Lord,  how  great  are  Thy 
works  !  and  Thy  thoughts  are  very  deep." 

What  we  plead  for  is,  that  the  achievements 
of  man,  in  subduing  the  world,  shall  not  be  con- 
sidered as  his  exclusively,  but  that  the  inventor 
and  the  invention  shall  both  be  recognized  as 
instruments,  in  accomplishing  the  plans  of  in- 
finite wisdom,  and  shewing  forth  the  Divine 
glory.  They  are  to  be  viewed  as  co-relative 
agents  in  the  consummation  of  one  mysterious 
plan,  and  though  one  has  only  a  physical,  while 
the  other  has  a  mental  and  moral  relation  to  the 
Divine  Author,  both  are  designed  to  exhibit  his 
infinite  perfections. 

In  surveying  a  work  of  art  it  is  impossible  to 
separate  entirely  the  implement  from  the  in- 
ventor in  our  mental  conceptions.  Let  this 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  39 

principle  be  carried  out  to  its  legitimate  conclu- 
sions, then  the  inventor  and  the  invention  will 
unite  in  lifting  the  mind  towards  the  Author  of 
both.  Then,  we  shall  not  only  admire  the 
"  marvels  of  science,"  or  dwell  with  delight  upon 
the  utility  of  this  or  that  machine,  but  man  him- 
self, a  living,  reasoning,  intelligent,  industrial 
instrument,  shall  be  viewed  as  in  the  hand  of 
God  ;  nay,  as  a  "  fellow-worker  with  God,"  in 
rendering  available  the  vast  resources  which  in- 
finite beneficence  has  provided  for  the  comfort, 
as  well  as  the  mental  and  physical  progress  of 
the  human  family. 

THE   ARTS   IN   RELATION   TO   THE   FALL. 

The  well-known  aphorism,  "  that  necessity  is 
the  mother  of  invention,"  is  illustrated  by  the 
whole  progress  of  the  arts  as  developed  in  this 
fallen  world.  The  discovery,  by  sin,  of  their 
nakedness  gave  the  first  impulse  to  Adam  and 
Eve  in  the  arts  of  industry.  Having  eaten  of 
the  forbidden  fruit,  "  the  eyes  of  them  both  were 
opened,  and  they  knew  that  they  were  naked  ; 
and  they  sewed  fig  leaves  together,  and  made 
themselves  aprons."  This  was  the  first  effort  of 
mechanical  genius,  stimulated  by  want,  and 
directed  by  reason,  and  may  be  considered,  not 
only  as  the  consequence  of  the  fall,  but  also  as 
the  symptom  of  man's  future  mechanical 


40  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

triumphs.  That  the  arts  have  been  developed, 
in  connexion  with  the  introduction  of  moral  evil, 
is  no  argument  against  the  claims  of  God  as 
their  author.  As  sin  gave  occasion  for  the  ex- 
hibition of  the  plan  of  redemption,  so  it  has 
given  opportunity  for  the  gradual  development 
of  the  entire  plan  of  that  providential  economy, 
which,  in  the  divine  decree,  anticipated,  and 
provided  for  the  circumstances  of  a  fallen  race. 
The  fact  of  the  fall  by  sin  multipied  the  wants 
of  man  beyond  conception.  He  required  food 
from  a  barren  soil,  blighted  by  the  curse,  and 
only  rendered  fertile  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow. 
Cultivation  became  his  standing  employment, 
but  this  art  required  the  invention  of  imple- 
ments, either  simple  or  complex,  as  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  demanded.  We  have  already 
traced  the  source  of  these  to  the  mineral,  vege- 
table, and  animal  kingdoms.  But  how  will  man 
discover  the  depository  or  use  of  iron,  the  appli- 
cation of  wood,  or  the  appropriation  of  the  living 
services,  and  the  use  of  the  dead  remains  of 
animals  ?  Will  chance  provide  the  materials,  or 
direct  to  their  mechanical  application  ?  The  idea 
is  utterly  absurd.  As  soon  might  the  earth  be 
expected  spontaneously  to  pour  forth  its  metals 
moulded  for  the  machine.  As  soon  might  the 
tree  of  the  forest  be  expected  to  bow  its  head 
and  lop  off  its  branches,  and  smooth  its  trunk 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  41 

for  domestic  purposes.  As  easily  might  the  ox 
be  expected  to  leave  his  pasture,  and  wreathe  a 
yoke  for  his  own  subjection  and  servitude.  Is 
the  mind  of  man  adequate  to  foresee  th'e  neces- 
sity, or  his  power  sufficient  to  supply  the  want, 
or  his  benevolence  so  comprehensive  as  to  meet 
the  case  of  all  ?  Verily  no.  Of  this  we  have 
ample  evidence  in  the  occurrence  of  every  day 
life.  The  collective  experience  of  centuries,  and 
the  accumulated  wisdom  of  the  mightiest  na- 
tions on  earth,  are  found  at  times  inadequate  to 
provide  against  the  contingencies  of  a  foreign 
campaign,  or  even  to  convey  with  regularity,  food 
and  clothing  to  a  few  thousands  of  gallant  troops 
righting  in  the  distance  the  battles  of  their 
country.  Public  opinion  may  blame  this  Ca- 
binet Minister  or  that  department  official  as  it 
will,  the  fact  speaks  volumes,  and  is  Calculated 
to  teach  us  the  poverty  of  human  foresight,  and 
the  utter  insufficiency  of  human  wisdom  or 
power  to  provide  even  the  channels  through 
which  heaven's  bounty  may  be  administered. 
Contrast  with  this  the  full  provision  which  was 
made  in  the  formation  of  the  globe,  and  which 
is  continually  supplied  through  innumerable 
channels  from  age  to  age,  for  meeting  the  wants 
and  increasing  the  comforts  of  the  fallen  human 
family.  What  mind  but  the  Infinite  could  have 
anticipated  the  wants  of  a  race  of  moral  beings, 


42  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

having  forfeited  their  first  estate,  and  having 
completely  changed  their  relations  to  other  moral 
beings  and  material  things  ?  But  here,  we  see 
the  exhibition  of  that  prescience  which  "  knoweth 
the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient 
times  the  things  that  shall  come  to  pass,"  and 
the  intervention  of  that  power  which  can  con- 
trol every  event,  and  render  every  element  sub- 
servient to  the  eternal  decree  and  purpose. 
Contemplate  artificial  phenomena  as  we  may,  in 
its  relation  to  man  and  to  nature,  no  cause  can 
be  assigned  sufficient  for  the  transformation 
displayed,  or  for  the  effects  produced,  unless  we 
attribute  it  to  that  God  who  has  said,  "  My 
counsel  shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my 
pleasure." 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  INSTINCT  IN  MAN  AN  ELEMENT 
IN  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  ARTS. 

That  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  promised 
is  realised  by  the  industry  of  man,  militates  not 
against  our  argument.  The  capability  for  labor, 
whether  mental  or  physical  is  of  God,  and  by 
Him  also  were  planted  the  instincts  of  industry. 
The  established  connexion  between  toil  and  en- 
joyment is,  that  unless  a  man  submits  to  labor 
many  of  his  wants  must  remain  unsupplied, 
and  many  of  his  desires  ungratified.  By  the 
slothful  man  the  riches  of  nature  are  allowed  to 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  43 

run  to  waste,  while  physical  misery  is  prolonged 
and  extended.  Instead  of  assuming  the  place 
which  God  has  assigned  him  as  lord  of  creation, 
he  continues  a  slave  ;  he  remains  a  savage — 
naked,  helpless,  and  destitute  of  domestic  com- 
fort. But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  man  who  has 
the  instincts  of  industry  awakened  within  him, 
and  who  has  by  exercise  matured  these  latent 
principles,  and  who  has  tasted  the  sweets  of  his 
daily  toil — that  man  has  entered  upon  a  course 
of  progress  ;  he  has  taken  hold  of  his  original 
charter,  and  nature  itself  is  so  adapted  as  to 
yield  to  his  continued  efforts.  It  is  true  that 
man  labors  for  himself,  and  the  distinctions  of 
property  become  a  stimulus  to,  exertion,  but 
while  he  labors  for  himself  he  is  filling  up  his 
place  in  the  comprehensive  plan,  and  benefitting 
his  species.  By  the  exercise  of  those  powers 
wherewith  the  Creator  has  endowed  him  he  can 
subdue  and  rule  over  that  physical  domain  ac- 
corded in  his  original  grant.  It  is  thus  that  one 
of  our  poets*  represents  the  transition  from 
savage  to  civilized  life  : 

'•  Industry  approached, 
And  roused  him  from  his  miserable  sloth, 
His  faculties  unfolded  ;  pointed  out 
Where  lavish  Nature  the  directing  hand- 
Of  art  demanded ;  showed  him  how  to  raise 
His  feeble  force  by  the  mechanic  powers : 

*  Thomson. 


44  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

To  dig  the  mineral  from  the  vaulted  earth ; 

On  what  to  turn  the  piercing  rage  of  fire ; 

On  what  the  torrent,  and  the  gathered  blast ; 

G  ave  the  tall  ancient  forest  to  his  axe ; 

Taught  him  to  chip  the  wood,  and  hew  the  stone, 

Till  by  degrees  the  finished  fabric  rose  ; 

Tore  from  his  limbs  the  blood-polluted  fur 

And  wrapt  him  in  the  wooly  vestment  warm ; 

Nor  stopt  at  barren  bare  necessity, 

But  still  advancing  bolder,  led  him  on 

To  pomp,  to  pleasure,  elegance,  and  grace  ; 

And  breathing  high  ambition  through  his  soul, 

Set  science,  wisdom,  glory  in  his  view, 

And  bade  him  be  the  lord  of  all  below." 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  GRADUAL  DEVELOPMENT  OP  MECHANICAL  INVENTIONS  AN 
EVIDENCE  THAT  THEY  ARE  COMMUNICATED  IN  ACCORDANCE 
WITH  THE  PURPOSES  OF  GOD. 

...'.'"".    :.•'•:'„.          '.  .        .'..   jJvO       ,'. :.!-;,>:'.'Oitl 

THE  second  branch  of  our  argument  "bears 
upon  the  date  of  discovery,  or  the  characteristics 
of  society  at  the  time  when  some  of  the  most 
remarkable  inventions  have  been  brought  into 
general  requisition.  The  relations  of  time  in 
their  successive  development,  as  well  as  the  fact 
of  .their  construction,  furnish  an  invincible  argu- 
ment that  the  God  of  infinite  wisdom  has  fixed 
the  period,  and  that  in  the  dispensations  of  His 
providence,  He  has  raised  up  the  inventor,  and 
so  arranged  concomitant  circumstances  as  to 
open  a  channel  for  the  application  of  the 
machine.  This  might  be  illustrated  by  the 
whole  history  of  mankind  ;  for  the  history  of  the 
arts  reaches  back  to  the  expulsion  from  Para- 
dise, and  may  be  viewed  as  the  record  of  man's 
intellectual  and  physical  progress.  And  what 
is  the  history  of  the  human  family  but  the 


46  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

register  of  facts  evolved  in  the  exercise  of  God's 
physical  and  moral  dominion  in  our  world  ?  It 
is  freely  admitted  that  there  has  been  a  disturb- 
ing element — the  introduction  of  moral  evil, 
which  has  changed  the  entire  aspect  of  human 
history,  opened  the  bitter  fountains  of  sorrow, 
and  given  dominion  to  the  "king  of  terrors/' 
Besides,  sin  has  been  the  moral  cause  producing 
vast  physical  changes  upon  the  world,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  curse  pronounced  by  the  righteous 
Governor.  But  amidst  these  convulsions,  physi- 
cal and  moral,  the  reflecting  mind  will  be  able 
at  all  times  to  trace  the  over-ruling  and  directing 
providence  of  God.  Universal  nature  bears  the 
impress  of  infinite  wisdom  and  Almighty  power, 
while  every  page  of  human  history  displays  the 
outgoings  of  a  boundless  beneficence.  A  benefi- 
cence, however,  regulated  by  restraining  circum- 
stances in  relation  to  labor,  discovery,  and 
invention,  without  which  the  introduction  of  sin 
to  a  world,  constituted  as  the  earth  was'  at 
creation,  would  have  involved  the  human  race 
in  physical  as  well  as  moral  ruin.  Truly  may  it 
be  said  that,  "  were  God  to  let  the  world  alone, 
man  would  become  a  fiend  ;  angels  would  flee  as 
from  another  Gomorrah,  and  cease  to  minister 
to  it:  Satan,  wearing  the  regalia  of  hell,  would 
lord  it  over  sea  and  land,  and  time  commencing 
with  Paradise  would  end  with  Pandemonium," 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  47 

It  is  worthy  of  observation  that,  throughout 
the  history  of  man's  social  progress — while  the 
characteristics  of  the  age,  imparted  an  impulse  to 
the  inventive  faculties,  the  inventions  themselves 
gave  a  new  impulse  to  society.  The  triumphs 
of  genius  are  thus  the  monuments  of  human 
progression,  each  adapted  to  its  respective  age, 
and  all  tending  to  universal  development.  Could 
there  he  a  more  convincing  proof  of  the  hand  of 
God  in  the  history  of  inventions  than  the  fact 
that  each  important  discovery  has  been  made  at 
the  very  time  in  which  it  was  most  calculated  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  human  family  ? 
In  proof  and  illustration  of  this,  only  a  few 
examples  can  be  selected  from  the  entire  field  of 
artificial  phenomena.  But  what  holds  true  of 
the  more  important  and  conspicuous  machines — 
which  are  bat  parts  of  the  whole  mechanical 
development — is  also  true  of  the  least  of  these, 
in  its  relative  position,  and  of  the  entire  range 
of  inventions,  in  their  relations  to  each  other,  and 
to  humanity. 

THE  MARINER'S  COMPASS. 

The  discovery  of  the  mariner's  compass  in  its 
relations  to,  and  bearings  upon  other  discoveries, 
has,  in  the  providence  of  God,  changed  the 
whole  aspect  of  society,  and  as  the  silent  guide 
of  the  heralds  of  truth,  arnid  the  dark  and 


48  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

jarring  elements  of  nature,  it  is  destined  to  pro- 
duce greater  changes  throughout  the  entire 
globe.  The  art  of  navigation  reaches  Lack  to 
the  days  of  antiquity,  but  the  invention  of  the 
mariner's  compass  is  comparatively  modern. 
Navigation,  simply  considered,  is  the  art  of 
conducting  a  vessel  by  sea,  from  one  port  to 
another.  This  art  was,  doubtless,  known  in  the 
first  ages  of  the  world,  though  we  have  no 
record  of  any  floating  vessel  previous  to  the  Ark 
of  Noah.  In  subsequent  Scripture  records  the 
references  to  navigation  prove  that  the  whole  art 
was  in  a  very  infantile  state,  compared  with 
what  it  has  now  attained.  It  is  true  that  ship- 
building and  coast  sailing  had  been  in  operation 
from  time  immemorial,  but  down  till  the  time 
of  the  discovery  of  the  compass,  the  ocean  had 
not  become  the  pathway  of  nations.  Fleets, 
though  safely  launched  and  ably  manned,  were 
continually  land-bound — not  by  the  opposing 
elements  of  nature,  but  in  consequence  of  the 
want  of  an  instrument  by  which  the  mariners 
might  discover  their  locality,  and  mark  their 
direction  amidst  the  trackless  waste  of  waters. 
How  dreary  the  coasting  trade  of  such  times  as 
those  of  Solomon,  when  his  well  appointed  fleet, 
in  company  with  that  of  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre, 
could  only  reach  and  return  from  Tarshish 
once  in  three  years  ?  How  slow  and  uncertain 


THEOLOGY   OF  INVENTIONS.  49 

the  voyages  accomplished  by  the  Phenieians, 
Carthagenians,  Egyptians,  Komans,  and  other 
nations  of  Europe  and  Asia  ?  With  no  guide 
but  the  sun  by  day  and  the  stars  by  night, 
uncertainty  marked  every  attempt  to  cross  even 
the  larger  estuaries  of  the  sea.  Whenever  the 
sky  lowered,  or  the  storm-cloud  collected,  these 
ancient  seamen  were  thrown  into  alarm  lest  they 
should  be  carried  in  a  course  entirely  different 
from  that  intended,  or  landed  upon  some  un- 
known and  inhospitable  shore.  The  dangers 
and  difficulties  of  ancient  navigation  are  evident 
from  the  deliberations,  great  preparations,  and 
alarms  of  Homer's  heroes,  when  proposing  to 
cross  the  Egean  Sea,  a  voyage  of  not  more  than 
150  miles ;  and  the  expedition  of  the  Argonauts, 
under  Jason,  across  the  sea  of  Marmora  and  the 
Euxine,  to  the  Island  of  Colchis,  a  distance  of 
only  four  or  five  hundred  miles,  was  celebrated 
as  a  most  wonderful  exploit,  at  which  the  gods 
themselves  were  said  to  be  amazed.  The  history 
of  Paul's  travels,  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  corroborates  the  same  fact,  respecting 
the  difficulty  of  navigation  without  the  compass. 
"  When  neither  sun  nor  stars  in  many  days 
appeared,  and  no  small  tempest  lay  upon  us,  all 
hope  that  we  should  be  saved  was  then  taken 
away."  Being  deprived  of  their  guides — hav- 
ing lost  their  reckoning,  and  sight  of  land; 
3 


50  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

even  though  they  might  weather  the  storm,  they 
had  no  idea  whither  their  course  would  lead 
them,  as  now  tossed  and  driven  up  and  down  in 
the  Mediterranean.  This  was  but  one  hopeless 
bark  among  many,  that,  by  undue  detention,  or 
by  storms,  were  in  those  days  of  infantile  naviga- 
tion tossed  upon  the  troubled  waters  of  Adria, 
and  wrecked  upon  the  barren  shores  of  the  island 
of  Melita.  It  was  not  until  the  discovery  of  the 
polarity  of  the  magnet,  and  the  invention  of  the 
mariner's  compass,  that  distant  voyages  could  be 
undertaken,  that  extensive  oceans  could  be  tra- 
versed, and  commercial  intercourse  opened  up 
between  remote  continents  and  the  islands  of 
the  sea. 

It  is  not  to  our  purpose  to  trace  the  history  of 
this  discovery,  nor  to  consider  the  comparative 
claims  of  those  supposed  to  be  the  inventors  of  the 
compass.  The  subject  is  at  this  distance  of  time 
involved  in  obscurity — an  obscurity  which  is 
calculated  to  evince  more  clearly  the  hand  of 
God  in  a  discovery  and  invention,  which  in 
their  first  application  were  deemed  unworthy  of 
record,  though  their  results  have  astonished  and 
enriched  the  world.  But  it  is  of  little  conse- 
quence to  our  argument  to  be  deprived  of  ex- 
plicit historical  testimony  regarding  the  name 
of  the  individual  who  first  discovered  the  fact 
of  the  Northern  attraction  for  iron,  or  who  first 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  51 

balanced  the  needle  in  the  formation  of  a  compass, 
as  it  is  chiefly  with  the  state  of  the  world  at  that 
period  that  we  have  to  do,  and  the  influence 
which  this  discovery  has  imparted  to  the  whole 
circle  of  the  sciences,  to  politics,  to  religion,  and 
to  all  the  interests  and  comforts  of  social  life. 

The  polarity  of  the  magnet  has  existed  from 
creation.  The  iron  had  been  in  use,  at  least, 
from  the  time  of  Tubal-Cain,  whose  name  is 
recorded  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  book  of 
Genesis,  as  "an  instructor  of  every  artificer  in 
brass  and  iron."  The  mind  of  man  possessed 
the  same  mental  powers,  his  curiosity  was  as 
easily  excited,  and  his  ambition  for  wealth  and 
for  territory  as  great  during  these,  as  they  have 
been  during  any  succeeding  periods.  Progress 
had  been  made  in  other  mechanical  departments; 
as  Nineveh,  and  Babylon,  and  Jerusalem,  and 
Home  give  evidence.  But  this  discovery  of  the 
polarity  of  the  magnet  was  merely  a  matter  of 
observation,  and  yet  not  observed,  till  that 
period  when  the  God  of  Providence  designed 
by  its  instrumentality  to  open  up  the  world,  and 
accomplish  the  original  purpose,  that  the  human 
family  should  multiply,  subdue,  and  possess  the 
earth. 

From  the  contradictory  claims  of  different 
countries,  as  to  the  discovery  of  the  polarity  of  the 
magnet,  it  is  impossible  now  to  fix  upon  the  precise 


52  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

date  when  the  natural  fact  was  made  known,  yet 
it  is  evident,  from  authentic  history,  that  the  mar- 
iner's compass  was  not  commonly  used  in  navi- 
gation before  the  year  1420,  that  is,  only  a  few  years 
previous  to  the  invention  of  printing.  That  the 
loadstone  had  the  property  of  attracting  iron 
was  known  in  all  ages,  but  its  tendency  to  point 
to  the  north  and  south  was  only  discovered  about 
the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  its  ap- 
plication to  practical  use  in  the  art  of  navigation 
was  still  a  secret,  until  the  beginning  of  the 
fifteenth.  The  simplicity  of  the  discovery,  as 
transmitted  by  traditionary  records,  marks  the 
hand  of  God  as  there.  It  was  not,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  some  scientific  mariner,  speculat- 
ing like  Columbus  upon  the  probability  of  dis- 
covering a  vast  continent  beyond  the  world  of 
waters,  or  the  best  means  of  obtaining  a  sure 
guide  across  the  trackless  element.  Nor  was  it  a 
traveller,  burning  with  ardent  desire  to  explore 
some  hitherto  unknown  country.  Neither  was 
it  a  learned  philosopher  seeking  the  solution  of 
a  problem  that  might  render  his  name  illus- 
trious in  coming  generations,  but,  according  to 
the  uncertain  traditions  which  have  reached  us, 
"  some  curious  persons  were  amusing  themselves 
by  floating  a  loadstone  suspended  upon  a  piece  of 
cork  in  a  basin  of  water,  which,  when  left  at  liber- 
ty, was  observed  to  point  to  the  north.  In  addi- 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  53 

tion  to  this,  it  was  observed  that  a  piece  of  iron 
rubbed  with  loadstone  acquired  the  property  not 
only  of  turning  to  the  north,  but  also  of  attract- 
ing needles  and  the  filings  of  iron.  Thus  the  ele- 
mentary idea  was  communicated,  and  scientific 
minds  and  mechanical  genius  left  to  apply  the 
boon  conferred  upon  humanity.  It  is  not  to  our 
purpose  to  cast  any  light  upon  the  steps  of  pro- 
gress, the  experiments,  the  failures,  or  the 
triumphs  of  science,  in  the  elucidation  of  this 
discovery.  Nor  shall  we  notice  the  prejudice 
which  in  this,  as  in  every  other  case  of  mechani- 
cal progress,  was  ready  to  enchain  this  world- 
wide principle  as  a  thing  of  nought.  Neither  can 
we  dwell  upon  the  complete  revolution's,  physi- 
cal and  mental,  which  it  has  already  produced. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  discovery  of  this  simple 
elementary  fact,  a  fact  which  had  always  existed, 
speedily  cast  a  new  aspect  over  the  entire  globe. 
Oceans,  hitherto  unknown  and  trackless,  became 
the  pathway  of  the  nations.  Countries  and 
kingdoms,  hitherto  isolated,  were  brought  into 
neighborhood.  The  vast  world  of  waters,  here- 
tofore supposed  to  be  an  insuperable  barrier  to 
commerce,  was  subjected  to  the  use  of  man.  The 
original  command  to  replenish  the  earth  and 
subdue  it,  was  re-echoed  from  the  mountains  and 
the  valleys  of  hitherto  unknown  regions  of  the 
earth,  laid  open  by  every  successive  discovery  ; 


54  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

while  the  last  injunction  of  the  ascending  Ke- 
deemer,  to  "go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature/'  became  practicable 
to  the  Church,  even  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
The  discovery  of  this  natural  principle,  and  its 
embodiment  in  a  mechanical  instrument,  has 
been  succeeded  by  the  revelation  of  vast  contin- 
ents and  islands  unknown  to  the  European  world, 
and  the  establishment  of  friendly  and  commer- 
cial intercourse  between  the  remotest  regions  of 
the  earth.  Without  the  aid  of  this  distinguished 
invention,  America,  in  all  probability,  would 
have  remained  a  secret  to  the  Eastern  nations  ; 
Australia,  the  fifth  great  division  of  the  globe, 
the  numerous  islands  in  the  Indian  and  Pacific 
Oceans,  the  isles  of  Japan,  and  other  immense 
territories  inhabited  by  human  beings,  or  yet  to 
be  inhabited,  would  have  remained  as  much  un- 
known and  unexplored  by  the  nations  of  Chris- 
tendom as  though  they  had  never  existed.  As 
these  were  the  sole  depositories  of  the  records  of 
revelation,  they  could  never  have  transmitted 
the  glad-tidings  of  salvation  to  unknown  tribes 
of  mankind,  of  whose  existence  they  were  entire- 
ly ignorant.  Even  though  the  whole  terraqueous 
globe  had  been  stretched  out  before  them,  and 
its  seas,  and  oceans,  and  continents,  and  islands 
mapped  with  precision,  without  this  natural,  yet 
artificial  guide — the  compass — to  direct  their 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  55 

course  amidst  the  billows  of  the  ocean,  they 
could  have  afforded  no  light  and  no  relief  to 
cheer  the  moral  gloom  of  those  distant  nations, 
"  who  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death." 
Though  the  art  of  printing  had  been  discovered, 
aad  the  sacred  volume  multiplied  in  millions, 
jand  the  original  tongues  translated  into  every 
language.  And  though  there  had  been  churches 
ready  to  scatter  them  as  the  leaves  of  the  tree 
of  life  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,  and  mis- 
sionaries to  expound  their  soul-inspiring  doc- 
trines, all  would  have  been  unavailing  to  vast 
portions  of  the  heathen  world  without  the  mari- 
ner's compass  to  guide  the  messenger  of  mercy 
across  the  trackless  ocean. 

Without  the  aid  of  the  compass,  the  business 
of  the  merchant,  and  the  work  of  the  mission- 
ary, would  be  limited  within  the  narrow  bounds 
of  a  coasting  voyage  or  a  land  journey.  But  when 
the  set  time  had  come  that  Christianity  should 
be  emancipated  from  the  thraldom  of  the  dark 
ages,  when  the  moral  Governor  would  give  a 
new  impulse  to  the  world,  and  a  new  field  for 
the  conquest  of  the  Church,  this  fact  in  nature 
was  made  known,  and  has  resulted  in  discove- 
ries which  have  already  revolutionized  the  men- 
tal world,  and  which  are  destined  to  produce 
still  more  astonishing  revelations  in  the  physical 
and  the  moral.  Who  can  calculate  the  effects 


56  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

produced  upon  commerce  and  national  inter- 
course ?  Or  who  can  predicate  the  past  or  future 
influence  of  these  again,  as  reacting  upon  the 
human  family,  in  the  development  of  civiliza- 
tion, freedom,  self-government,  philosophy,  lit- 
erature, and  religion  ? 

Had  the  discovery  of  the  compass  been  sooner 
made,  while  war  was  the  professional  life  of 
monarchs,  nothing  but  human  destruction  could 
have  ensued.  Nations,  slumbering  in  the  secu- 
rity of  their  boundless  sea-girt  position,  would 
have  been  daily  overrun  and  destroyed  by  the 
barbarian  invader.  In  the  existing  state  of  the 
apostatized  Church  during  the  dark  ages,  when 
pure  Christianity  was  well  nigh  extinguished, 
and "  spiritual  despotism  had  overlaid  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Gospel,  the  discovery  of  this  inven- 
tion could  only  have  shaded  in  deeper  gloom 
the  dark  folding  clouds  of  heathen  superstition. 
But  in  the  purpose  of  God,  the  day  of  the  Ke- 
formation  was  soon  to  dawn,  the  Bible  to  be 
emancipated,  and  reproduced  in  millions,  for 
dispelling  the  mists  of  Popery  ;  the  policy  of  na- 
tional isolation  to  be  supplanted  by  the  policy 
of  national  commerce,  and,  in  prospect  of  these 
mighty  moral  changes,  the  God  of  providence 
evolved  the  secret  of  nature,  and  directed  human 
ingenuity  to  the  solution  of  the  problem,  that 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  57 

the  sea,  as  well  as  the  land,  might  be  made  the 
thoroughfare  of  nations. 

The  intercourse  of  nations  has  extended  know- 
ledge, and,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  has  given 
rise  to  freedom,  has  renovated  politics,  has  eli- 
cited the  pent-up  affections  of  man  towards  his 
fellow-man,  and  rendered  war  a  stern  necessity 
rather  than  a  pleasure.  It  is  true  that  the  Mil- 
lenium has  not  yet  come,  when  "  peace  on  earth, 
and  good  will  to  men,"  shall  be  the  watchword 
of  the  nations.  The  trumpet  of  war  has  been 
blown,  and  the  slumbering  nations  of  Europe 
have  been  called  to  furbish  their  swords,  and 
engage  in  the  conflict.  It  is  true  that  already 
many  thousands  of  the  mighty  have  fallen,  and 
the  cry  of  lamentation,  under  bereavement,  has 
been  re-echoed  from  the  halls  and  hamlets  of 
peaceful  Britain.  We  admit  that  the  dark 
thunder  cloud  is  yet  suspended,  which  may  at 
some  unexpected  hour  burst  in  a  wide-spread 
European  conflagration.  But  the  conflict,  as 
now  waged  between  the  Northern  Czar  and  the 
Western  Allies,  is  a  struggle  between  grasping 
despotism  and  disinterested  freedom.  It  is  the 
result  of  human  passions  unsubdued — the  ambi- 
tion of  conquest  nourished  in  a  despotic  heart. 
But  opposed  to  these  stand  out  in  bold  relief, 
for  the  contemplation  of  future  ages3  the  confer- 
ences, notes  of  diplomacy,  .protocols,  and  pro- 


58  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

tests  against  war  and  Kussian  aggression,  from 
the  free  and  civilized  nations  of  Europe.  These 
are  monuments  of  social  progress,  of  respect  for 
the  rights  of  humanity,  and  the  laws  of  nations ; 
clearly  indicating  that  the  whole  tendency  of 
discovery  in  science,  and  progress  in  art  is  to  aid 
in  ushering  in  the  reign  of  peace,  and  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  brotherhood  of  nations. 

In  this  invention,  then,  we  have  distinct  evi- 
dence of  the  hand  of  God  in  directing  and  over- 
ruling the  efforts  of  human  genius  to  subserve 
the  purposes  of  grace  and  mercy  ;  as  these  have 
been,  and  shall  be  fully  exhibited  in  the  redemp- 
tion of  our  world.  When  the  prophet  Isaiah 
comforted  the  ancient  Church  with  the  announce- 
ment, "  The  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed, 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together,"  it  must  have 
been  difficult  for  even  him  to  understand  how 
his  own  predictions  should  be  accomplished. 
From  the  existing  state  of  the  art  of  navigation 
at  that  period,  the  intercourse  of  Israel  with  the 
world  was  comparatively  limited.  "  The  great 
and  wide  sea,"  known  in  modern  times  as  the 
Mediterranean,  formed  the  eastern  boundary 
beyond  which  as  a  geographer,  he  could  not 
penetrate.  Of  the  distant  continents,  and  the 
"  isles  afar  off,"  and  of  the  waste  of  waters  that 
lay  between,  he  had  no  knowledge,  and  how  the 
"ends  of  the  earth"  could  be  reached,  he  could 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  59 

not,  as  a  philosopher,  form  any  conception.  But 
as  a  prophet,  it  was  enough-  for  him  that  "  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  had  spoken  it,"  he  could  gaze 
in  the  exercise  of  faith,  and  in  the  light  of  in- 
spiration, down  the  stream  of  time,  to  the  period 
when  Divine  Power,  with  or  without  the  inter- 
vention of  human  means,  should  accomplish  all 
that  he  had  spoken.  How  different  with  those 
whose  .lot  has  been  cast  in  these  latter  days  ? 
Not  only  has  the  Sun  of  Kighteousness  arisen 
over  the  nations,  but  all  the  instrumentality 
which  Infinite  Wisdom  saw  meet  to  employ  in 
the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel,  is  being  gradually 
developed.  We  see  in  progress  the  grand  de- 
signs of  the  Divine  economy  as  yet  to  be  accom- 
plished, and  science  and  art  in  their  appropriate 
sphere,  and  at  the  appointed  time,  lending  their 
aid  towards  that  consummation.  Already  may 
be  seen  the  indications  of  that  period  when  all 
the  discoveries  of  science,  and  all  the  efforts  of 
genius,  shall  be  consecrated  to  the  service  of  the 
King  of  Zion. 

THE   ART   OF   FEINTING. 

This  invention  marks  an  important  era  in  the 
world's  history,  and  the  time  of  its  discovery  is 
peculiarly  illustrative  of  the  over-ruling  and 
directing  providence  of  God.  Like  the  mariner's 
compass,  its  primitive  history  is  involved  in 


60  THEOLOGY   OF  INVENTIONS. 

obscurity.  The  greater  proportion  of  papular 
historians  fix  the  date  of  invention  in  the  early 
part  of  the  fifteenth  century,  or  about  the  year 
1430 — a  period  regarding  which  it  may  be 
justly  said  that  darkness  covered  the  earth,  and 
gross  darkness  the  people  ;  but  of  this  period 
it  may  be  also  appropriately  affirmed  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  brooded  over  the  gloomy  chaos  ;  for 
it  was,  though  a  darkness  that  might  be  felt,  the 
gloomy  hour  which  preceded  the  dawn  of  light 
and  liberty.  Could  it  be  by  chance  that  a  man 
of  Haarlem,  a  town  of  Holland,  named  Lauren- 
tius  or  Lawrence  Coster,  should,  while  amusing 
himself  in  a  wood,  by  cutting  letters  on  the 
smooth  bark  of  a  tree,  evolve  the  whole  mystery 
of  the  art  of  printing  ?  In  the  transference  of 
the  letters  to  paper  he  only  thought  of  amusing 
his  children — as  any  other  father  would — but 
the  Divine  purposes  was  to  illuminate  a  world  by 
means  of  his  discovery.  This  simple  fact  of 
transference  from  the  bark  of  a  tree  to  the 
unsullied  sheet,  of  a  few  rudely  engraved  letters, 
gave  rise  within  him  to  the  discovery  and  appli- 
cation of  a  suitable  ink.  Thus,  encouraged  by 
his  success,  whole  pages  of  letters  upon  blocks 
of  wood  soon  gave  to  the  world  a  power  of 
diffusing  knowledge  hitherto  unknown-.  We 
are  aware  that  the  honor  of  this  invention  has 
been  claimed  by  other  cities  besides  Haarlem. 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  61 

Strasburg  and  Mentz  have  both  contended  for 
priority,  and  to  other  individuals  besides  Coster 
has  the  pen  of  the  historian  accorded  this  dis- 
tinguished invention.  The  names  of  Fust, 
Schoeffer,  and  Gutenberg  have  each  been  respec- 
tively contended  for,  while  recent  researches  have 
led  some  historians  to  date  the  discovery  as  early 
as  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,  and  to  accord 
the  honor  of  the  invention  to  the  Chinese.  It 
has  also  been  supposed  that  the  knowledge  of  the 
art  was  obtained  from  China,  as  there  is  some 
resemblance  between  their  block-printing,  and 
the  most  ancient  specimens,  or  first  efforts,  in 
Europe.  Be  this  as  it  may,  and  it  cannot  now 
be  determined,  the  guiding  providence  of  God, 
in  respect  to  time,  would  only  be  transferred 
from  the  first  elements  of  the  discovery  to  its 
importation  into  Europe.  Of  two  things  we  are 
certain,  that  between  1450  and  1455  the  first 
great  work  was  completed,  and  it  is  still  more 
interesting  to  discover  the  fact  that  the  earliest 
homage  of  this  inestimable  invention  was  paid 
to  the  "  Word  of  Life."  The  Latin  Bible  '?  of 
six  hundred  and  forty-one  leaves,  was  the  first 
volume  printed  with  moveable  metal  types. 
Shortly  after  the  discovery  had  been  reduced  to 
a  systematic  application,  the  printed  Bible  was 
offered  in  Paris  for  sixty  crowns,  but  so  deep 
was  the  moral  darkness  of  the  period  that  the 


62  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

uniformity  of  the  copies,  and  the  numbers 
issued  gave  rise,  not  only  to  astonishment, 
but  also  to.  persecution.  The  vender  of  these 
copies  of  the  sacred  volume  was  supposed  to  be 
a  magician,  and,  but  for  his  timely  flight,  would 
have  been  executed  for  witchcraft. 

What  would  the  men  of  that  generation  think 
of  the  modern  achievements  of  the  printing 
press  ?  Could  they  be  resuscitated  for  a  single 
day,  and  introduced  to  the  manufactory  of  the 
London  Times.  And  were  they  to  occupy  for 
a  month  the  place  and  power  of  the  British 
Cabinet,  retaining  their  prejudices,  little  more 
would  be  heard  of  the  "  heart-rending  scenes  " 
of  the  Crimea,  nor  of  the  mismanagement  of  the 
war  at  home  or  abroad.  How  much  better  the 
state  of  things  as  they  are,  with  a  free  and 
patriotic  press,  though  slight  inconveniences 
may  arise  to  personal  and  political  interests  ? 
The  printing  press  as  it  now  stands  unfettered, 
and  liberally  supported  by  the  British  public 
may  be  justly  viewed  as  the  palladium  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  Think  of  its  mighty 
power  and  vast  resources  for  the  exposure  of 
wrong,  and  the  diffusion  of  intelligence  !  Let 
one  example  suffice,  and  it  is  taken  from  the 
establishment  already  named.  The  following 
statistics  are  mentioned  in  a  report  by  Mr. 
Cowper,  from  which  it  appears  that  on  the  7th 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  63 

of  May,  1850  the  Times  and  "  Supplement "  con- 
tained 72  columns,  or  17,500  lines,  made  up  of 
upwards  of  a  million  pieces  of  type,  of  which  mat- 
ter about  two-fifths  were  written,  composed,  and 
corrected  after  7  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The 
"  Supplement "  was  sent  to  press  at  7.50  P.M.,  the 
first  form  of  the  paper  at  4.15  A.M.,  and  the 
second  form  at  4.45  A.M.  ;  on  this  occasion  7000 
papers  were  published  before  6.15  A.M.,  21,000 
before  7.30  A.M.,  and  34,000  before  8.45  A.M.,  or 
in  about  four  hours.  The  greatest  number  of 
copies  ever  printed  in  one  day  was  54,000,  and 
the  greatest  quantity  of  printing  in  one  day's 
publication  was  on  1st  of  March,  1848,  when 
the  paper  used  weighed  seven  tons,  the  weight 
usually  required  being  four  and  a  half  tons.  The 
surface  to  be  printed  every  night,  including  the 
"  Supplement,"  is  30  acres  ;  the  weight  of  the 
fount  of  type  in  constant  use  is  seven  tons  ;  and 
110  compositors,  and  25  pressmen  are  constantly 
employed.  This  is  but  a  single  specimen  of  the 
productive  powers  of  the  printing  press.  What 
must  be  the  accumulative  power  of  all  the  print- 
ing presses  in  the  world  ?  How  vast  must  be 
their  influences  for  good  or  evil  now,  and  assured- 
ly for  good  hereafter  ?  This  power  has  been 
well  described  by  one  of  our  English  poets*  when 
he  speaks  of  it  as 

°  Rev.  Robert  Montgomery. 


64  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

"  That  mighty  lever  that  has  moved  the  world — 
The  Press  of  England ! 
The  magic  of  its  might  no  tongue  can  tell ; 
Dark,  deep,  and  silent  oft,  but  ever  felt : 
Hix'd  with  the  mind,  and  feeding  with  the  food 
Of  thought,  the  moral  being  of  the  souL 
It  could  have  half  annihilated  hell 
And  her  great  denizens  by  glorious  sway." 

It  is  not,  however,  upon  the  benefits  of  the 
printing  press  that  we  design  to  fix  attention. 
These  statistics  have  been  introduced  as  an 
illustration  of  the  influence  wielded  through 
this  one  invention,  so  that  Divine  wisdom  and 
goodness  may  be  more  apparent  as  regards  the 
time  when  it  was  bestowed.  Had  the  discovery 
of  the  art  of  printing  been  earlier  in  Europe,  its 
utility  could  not  have  been  appreciated,  nor 
could  there  have  been  found  channels  for  the 
extension  of  its  benefits.  Indeed,  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  it  would  have  been  sacrificed  to 
the  superstition  and  barbarism  of  the  dark  ages, 
or  entirely  lost  among  the  rubbish  of  a  lifeless 
and  decaying  literature.  But  the  discovery  was 
made  at  the  very  time,  and  associated  with  the 
very  circumstances  which  were  calculated  to 
render  its  birth  a  blessing.  The  invention  of 
printing  was  coeval  with  the  revival  of  learning 
and  literature  among  the  European  nations.  It 
so  far  preceded  the  Eeformation  as  to  be  fully 
matured,  and  sufficiently  powerful  to  extend  the 
knowledge  of  Bible  truth,  as  well  as  to  record 


THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS.  65 

and  perpetuate  its  triumphs.  The  long  huried 
current  of  thought  began  to  move  amid  the 
mental  darkness,  and  to  burst  forth  in  the  con- 
troversies of  councils  sacred  and  civil.  The 
electric  spark  of  truth  was  already  shaking 
the  ecclesiastical  throne  of  error.  Italy  was 
animated  by  a  fresh  ardor,  and  the  continent 
of  Europe  generally  gave  indication  of  an 
approaching  crisis.  The  mighty  deep  was  now 
subjected  to  the  unrestrained  use  of  the  mariner, 
and  vast  continents  were  looming  in  the  distance, 
soon  to  be  discovered,  inhabited,  and  illuminated 
by  that  light  which  was  dawning  on  Europe. 
It  was  at  such  a  time  that  the  obscure  German, 
heaven-directed,  was  revolving  in  his  mind  the 
first  principles  of  the  art  of  printing,  and  uncon- 
sciously introducing  a  mental  revolution  which 
has  marked  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  Could  these  circumstances,  taken  in 
connexion  with  the  discovery,  be  the  result  of 
chance  ?  To  every  reflecting  mind  there  must 
be  here  the  evidence  of  a  guiding  and  over-rul- 
ing Providence. 

The  fact  that  the  printing  press  'should  also, 
be  committed  to  Christian  hands,  and  that  the 
Bible  should  be  the  first  permanent  memorial  of 
its  new-born  triumphs,  is  another  evidence  that 
it  must  be  of  God  ;  and  there  seems  also  in  the 
fact,  that  its  first  efforts  were  consecrated  to  the 


66  THEOLOGY   OF  INVENTIONS. 

service  of  Jehovah,  an  emblem  of  that  blessed 
era  when  this,  and  every  other  mechanical  in- 
vention, shall  be  received  as  a  gift  from  "  the 
Father  of  Lights,"  and  willingly  dedicated  to  his 
service. 

In  whatever  aspect  the  printing  press  is 
viewed,  there  must  be  conviction  that  God  is  its 
primary  Author.  In  its  history,  emerging  from 
chaotic  ignorance.  In  its  application,  the  per- 
manent defence  of  truth  ;  in  its  extension,  the 
harbinger  of  liberty ;  in  its  mighty  influence 
upon  the  development  of  science  and  art — upon 
every  physical,  mental,  and  moral  resource — 
upon  every  social  and  sacred  interest — upon  the 
well-being  of  the  human  family  in  time,  and  the 
preparation  of  man  for  eternity,  there  is  a  mag- 
nitude of  purpose,  and  plan,  and  result,  beyond 
the  grasp  of-  the  human  intellect,  an  elevation 
and  a  comprehension  manifestly  divine.  The 
printing  press,  though  evolved  and  employed  by 
the  ingenuity  of  man,  possesses  characteristics  and 
relations  to  the  Church  and  the  world,  which, 
calmly  and  intelligently  considered,  will  neces- 
sarily lift  the  mind  to  Him  who  is  the  Governor 
among  the  nations,  "who  doeth  according  to 
His  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth,"  and  who  directs  the 
mental  powers  and  mechanical  operations  of  men, 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  67 

for  promoting  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  that 
kingdom  which  shall  never  be  moved. 

THE    STEAM    ENGINE. 

It  has  been  well  remarked  that  "  steam  and 
lightning  are  not  secular,  but  Divine  powers/' 
and  they  have  been  well  described  as  "  inspira- 
tions from  on  high,  preparing  the  way  of  the 
Lord."  The  steam  engine,  like  the  mariner's 
compass,  existed  in  its  elementary  principles  and 
powers  from  creation.  The  water,  the  fire,  and  the 
minerals  had  each  a  place  and  a  form  in  the  region 
of  natural  phenomena,  though  not  yet  arranged 
by  human  ingenuity  so  as  to  produce  locomotive 
power.  It  can  not  be  questioned  that,  in  all 
ages,  water  could  be  converted  into  steam  or 
vapor.  It  was  thus  transformed  by  a  natural 
process  in  the  first  week  of  the  world's  history, 
when  "  there  went  up  a  mist  from  the  earth  and 
watered  the  whole  lace  of  the  ground."  Besides 
this  elemental  process,  wherever  artificial  heat 
was  applied,  the  same  phenomenon  was  produced. 
In  the  most  common  culinary  operations  of  do- 
mestic life,  steam  was  necessarily  generated  by 
the  contact,  of  water  and  fire.  In  the  gentle 
upheavings  of  the  lid  of  the  tea-kettle,  the  mecha- 
nical force  of  steam  was  daily  exhibited.  But 
how  does  it  happen  that  the  acutest  minds  among 
ancient  philosophers  never  thought  of  the  prac- 


OS  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

tical  application  of  this  mighty  agent  ?  How 
does  it  come  to  pass  that,  even  after  its  power 
as  a  mechanical  force  has  been  discovered,  and 
applied  in  the  coal-mines  of  Cornwall,  it  could 
not  be  rendered  available  for  general  purposes 
until  the  days  of  James  Watt  ?  The  only 
answer  is,  that  the  time  appointed  in  the  pur- 
pose and  evolved  in  the  mysterious  providence 
of  God,  for  solving  the  problem,  had  not  come. 
Hitherto  the.  world  was  unprepared  for  this 
inestimable  boon.  Had  it  been  discovered  prior 
to  the  invention  of  the  mariner's  compass,  it 
would  have  been  of  comparatively  little  advan- 
tage ;  or  had  it  preceded  the  art  of  printing,  the 
ignorance  of  the  human  family  would  have  pre- 
cluded the  possibility  of  enjoying  the  benefits 
which  it  was  calculated  to  bestow.  Nay,  it  may 
be  questioned  whether  the  introduction  of  steam 
at  an  earlier  age  would  not  have  proved  posi- 
tively injurious — a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing. 
Had  the  power  of  steam  as  a  mechanical  force 
been  known  to-  the  ancients,  whose  professional 
life  was  war,  how  fearful  must  have  been  the 
carnage  upon  the  peaceful  shores  of  every  sea- 
girt island  ?  The  ocean  itself  would  have  be- 
come the  high  battle-field  of  the  nations !  In 
the  ages  of  barbarism,  the  power  of  steam  would 
have  been  the  instrument  of  universal  devasta- 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  69 

tion — the  mechanical  exterminator  of  the  hu- 
man race. 

OBJECTION  ANSWERED. 

It  may  be  objected  to  this  line  of  argument, 
that  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  reign  of  justice, 
nor  attained  to  the  enjoyment  of  universal  peace. 
We  admit  the  fact  but  deny  the  force  of  the  ob- 
jection. War  is  not  now  the  stock  in  trade  of 
national  enterprise.  It  may,  as  at  present,  in  the 
case  of  aggression  by  the  Russian  Autocrat,  be 
rendered  an  act  of  stern  necessity ;  but  in  all  such 
cases,  it  is  simply  the  administration  of  public 
justice — the  infliction  of  merited  punishment  by 
the  sword  of  the  civil  magistrate.  In  such  cir- 
cumstances, war,  though  an  instrument  of  de- 
struction, is  nevertheless  the  visitation  of  aven- 
ging justice,  protecting  the  weak  against  the 
oppression  of  the  strong,  and  ultimately  destined 
to  break  the  scepter  of  every  despot.  But,  it 
may  here  be  urged,  that  art  in  such  cases  is  per- 
verted, and  made  instrumental  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  human  life  ;  that  the  brightest  genius  is 
frequently  expended  in  rendering  more  effective 
the  life-destroying  apparatus  of  war.  We  admit 
the  fact  ;  and  in  no  preceding  age  has  the  pro- 
gress of  art  been  more  manifest  than  in  the 
present  Crimean  struggle.  Witness  our  steam 
fleets,  our  guns,  our  railway  from  the  harbor 


70  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

to  the  camp,  and  our  telegraph  wires  among  the 
lines  of  our  soldiery,  conveying  despatches  from 
the  commander-in-chief  to  the  principal  officers 
But  let  it  be  kept  in  view  that,  if  war  is  ren- 
dered a  necessity,  a  simple  act  of  public  justice 
because  of  national  wrong,  the  more  destructive 
the  implements  of  war  are  the  better,  and  the 
more  efficiently  it  is  conducted  the  sooner  will 
its  horrors  terminate,  and  peace  be  restored. 

But  it  may  again  be  replied  that  this  argu- 
ment is  like  a  two-edged  sword  which  may  cut 
either  way.  May  not  the  agressor  improve  in 
Art  as  well  as  in  War,  and  thus  render  his  power 
more  destructive,  and  extend  the  sphere  of  op- 
pression ?  Is  it  not  so  in  the  modern  history  of 
Russia,  with  her  improved  guns,  and  forts,  and 
infernal  machines,  which  have  hitherto  kept  in 
check  our  besieging  army,  and  rendered  the 
navigation  of  her  dangerous  coasts  still  more 
hazardous  ?  This  is  true,  and  capable  of  uni- 
versal extension,  were  there  no  counterbalancing 
influences  in  the  arrangements  of  an  all- wise  Pro- 
vidence. But  we  have  already  seen,  that  the 
extension  of  knowledge,  and  the  enjoyment  of 
freedom,  impart  a  mighty  impulse  to  science  and 
art  ;  consequently,  as  knowledge  is  the  basis  of 
civil  liberty,  those  nations  enjoying  the  light  of 
the  Gospel  will  necessarily  be  found  in  advance 
of  those  despotic  and  enslaved.  Thus,  the  pro- 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  71 

gress  of  art,  when  applied  to  the  implements  of 
war,  will  ever  be  found  in  its  most  advanced 
state  in  connection  with  constitutional  freedom.. 
Has  it  not  been  so  in  the  past  history  of 
Britain  ?  Is  it  not  so  in  the  present  conflict  ? 
The  superiority  of  the  Allies  in  shipping,  in  the 
material  of  war,  associated  with  fidelity,  disci- 
pline and  moral  courage,  have  already  been  fully 
established  before  the  walls  of  the  Crimean 
Strong-hold,  and  are  our  only  hope  under  God 
of  victory  over  vastly  superior  numbers,  and  of 
ultimately  dictating  the  terms  of  an  honorable 
peace  which  will  secure  and  re-animate  the  lib- 
erties of  Europe. 

Besides,  in  the  present  development  of  martial 
prowess,  the  Allies,  and  especially  Britain,  have 
been  placed  in  a  position  of  great  disadvantage. 
The  secret  purposes  of  the  Kussian  Czar  have 
been  maturing  plans  offensive,  and  defensive,  for 
many  years — while  Britain  was  slumbering  upon 
her  oars,  and  occupied  with  extending  and  re- 
gulating her  commercial  relations  with  the 
world,  rather  than  projecting  aggressive  schemes 
of  aggrandizement,  or  training  her  sons  in  the 
science  of  war.  Even  while  her  gates  were  freely 
opened  to  strangers  from  every  kingdom,  and 
while  her  Crystal  Palace  was  exhibiting  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  industrial  arts  from  every  clime, 
as  the  first  instalment  of  universal  brotherhood 


72  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

restored,  Kussia  was  forging  her  implements 
and  training  her  armies  for  the  re-establishment 
of  a  European  despotism.  Yet,  in  the  day  of 
battle,  the  highest  development  of  science,  art, 
and  invincible  courage  is  found  upon  the  side  of 
the  Western  Allies,  clearly  establishing  the  fact 
that  mechanical  progress  will  ever  be  in  advance 
upon  the  side  of  civilization  and  freedom,  until 
the  banner  of  Peace  shall  float  triumphant  in 
every  land,  and  the  "good  will"  of  the  Gospel  be 
embodied  in  works  of  universal  philanthropy. 

And,  is  it  not  manifest,  that  in  the  over-rul- 
ing providence  of  God,  a  peace  of  forty  years  has 
been  accorded  to  Britain,  in  order  to  prepare  her 
for  this  eventful  struggle !  Though  that  pre- 
paration has  not  been  direct,  nor  with  a  view  to 
the  display  of  martial  prowess,  it  has  been  pro- 
gressing securely  in  her  vast  acquisition  of  wealth 
and  in  the  unprecedented  development  of  her 
arts  and  sciences.  Inexperience,  she  may  be 
charged  with,  in  her  earlier  campaigns,  but  what 
are  these  compared  with  the  forty  years  of 
peace  and  prosperity,  during  which  inventions 
have  come  to  light,  and  intellectual  and  moral 
influences  have  been  at  work,  which  in  harmony 
with  the  dissemination  of  the  Gospel,  will  at 
length  issue  in  the  peace  of  the  Millenium.  It 
is  worthy  of  observation,  that  the  discovery  of 
the  Steam  Engine  was  given  at  the  very  period, 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  73 

best  adapted  for  its  development — even  during 
this  unparalleled  period  of  peace.  In  the  early 
part  of  last  century,  many  efforts  were  made  to 
render  steam  available  for  general  purposes,  but 
none  succeeded  until  Watt,  after  years  of  study 
and  experimenting,  was  commissioned  to  solve 
the  problem.  The  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century  was  a  time  of  experimenting.  The  first 
half  of  the  present  century  has  been  the  period 
of  application.  While  the  continental  wars  were 
drawing  to  a  close,  the  inventor  of  the  steam 
engine  was  unconsciously  preparing  Britain  for 
the  present  conflict,  and  no  less  than  forty  years 
of  peace  were  given  to  test  its  utility,  and  de- 
velop its  mighty  influence  upon  the  whole  range 
of  mechanical  arts  !  Is  it  possible  to  view  these 
facts — the  relation  of  the  invention  to  time,  and 
the  circumstances  of  human  history,  without  the 
conviction  that  the  wisdom  of  God  has  fixed 
the  one  and  that  His  almighty  power  has  evolved 
the  other  ? 

This  peculiar  relation  of  time  and  discovery 
is  equally  apparent  in  connexion  with  the  ex- 
tension of  national  intercouse.  The  discovery 
of  America,  Australia,  and  other  distant  regions 
of  the  unknown  world,  by  the  aid  of  the  mariner's 
compass,  prepared  the  way  for  the  most  enlarged 
application  of  steam.  Had  this  mighty  engine 
of  locomotion  been  in  use  previous  to  the  dis- 
4 


74  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

covery  of  the  great  western  continent,  what 
would  have  been  the  natural  result  ?  Is  it  not 
evident  that  had  the  population  of  the  European 
world  been  poured  into  this  newly  discovered 
country  in  millions  as  they  have  recently  been 
by  the  agency  of  steam,  the  organization  of  the 
social  fabric  would  have  been  utterly  impossible. 
Provision  for  the  wants  of  emigrants  arriving  in 
weekly  thousands  in  a  new  country,  where  all 
was  unsubdued,  could  not  have  been  realized 
without  a  miracle,  such  as  sustained  the  Israel- 
ites in  the  desert;  The  misery  of  the  primary 
mining  huts  of  California,  or  the  sufferings  of 
the  first  settlers  in  "  Canvass  Town"  at  Mel- 
bourne, or  even  the  recent  state  of  the  hospitals 
of  Balaclava,  would  furnish  but  a  faint  picture 
of  what  must  have  been  the  state  of  American 
society,  had  its  discovery  been  co-evil  with  the 
present  use  of  steam,  or  had  its  desert  waters  been 
peopled  by  the  million,  as  in  modern  times.  But 
no  anomaly  of  this  description  occurs  in  the  dis- 
pensations of  Providence.  He  who  taught  the 
crane  and  the  swallow  the  time  of  their  coming, 
has  also  arranged  the  entire  chain  of  events,  so 
that  none  shall  fall  out  before  its  appointed 
period,  nor  shall  the  discoveries  of  man,  or  the 
policy  of  nations,  derange  the  benevolent  schemes 
of  the  moral  Governor.  To  sail  for  Columbia, 
under  the  former  mode  of  navigation,  was  the 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  75 

thought  of  years,  and  the  actual  enterprise  of 
many  months.  Thus  was  emigration  restrained 
within  moderate  limits,  until  the  land  of  adop- 
tion was  prepared  to  receive  and  sustain  its  im- 
ported population.  Nor  was  this  restraint  less 
important  to  the  mother  country,  which  would 
otherwise  have  been  left  destitute  of  her  native 
population,  before  she  had  become  sufficiently 
commercial  to  command  the  trade  of  the  civil- 
ized world.  By  comparatively  slow,  but  steady 
progress,  both  countries  were  prepared  for  emi- 
gration upon  a  gigantic  scale.  In  the  new 
world,  the  vast  and  trackless  forests  yielded  to 
the  industry  of  man.  Cities  rose  in  majesty 
and  splendor.  Civil  constitutions  were  framed. 
Churches  were  organized  and  schools  established. 
And  thus,  the  land  which  had  been  so  long  be- 
yond the  ken  of  the  Eastern  kingdoms,  was 
prepared  for  the  most  extensive  operations  of 
steam  and  commerce.  At  home  there  is  a  cor- 
responding preparation,  though  of  an  entirely 
different  description.  Forests  of  shipping  are 
found  accumulating  in  British  ports.  Manu- 
factories are  being  established  on  every  hand. 
Inventions  and  discoveries,  are  daily  transferring 
labor  from  human  hands  to  machinery,  and  thus, 
the  over-crowded  and  over-taxed  operatives, 
and  peasants  of  Britain  are  set  free,  to  find  a 
home  and  a  land  of  independence  beyond  the 


76  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

waves  of  the  vast  Atlantic.  To  pursue  the  argu- 
ment in  all  its  aspects  would  be  endless,  nor  is 
this  necessary,  as  every  reflecting  mind  must  be 
convinced  that  these  arrangements  of  time  and 
circumstances  are  not  the  result  of  chance,  but 
the  manifestations  of  Divine  wisdom,  and  power, 
and  goodness. 

THE   SPINNING   MILL. 

What  is  true  of  the  invention  of  the  steam 
engine,  in  respect  to  time,  is  equally  true  of  the 
spinning  mill  and  the  power  loom,  as  regards 
their  rapidity  of  production.  Had  not  the  in- 
vention of  the  steam  engine  preceded  both, 
neither  could  have  existed  without  injury  to 
society.  Of  what  utility  could  the  spinning  mill 
have  been  without  the  discovery  of  America,  by 
the  help  of  the  compass,  and  the  transit  of  raw 
material,  and  manufactured  goods  by  the  aid  of 
steam  ?  It  would  have  reduced  the  value  of 
human  labor  in  Britain,  while  there  was  not 
yet  furnished  a  new  country  for  its  rapidly  in- 
creasing population.  It  would  have  arrested 
employment,  and  shut  up  the  channels  of  sus- 
tenance, ere  yet  the  fertile  plains  and  boundless 
resources  of  the  Trans- Atlantic  world  had  been 
laid  open.  Nor  is  this  all  the  evil  which  would 
have  followed  the  inversion  of  these  discoveries. 
Had  not  the  intercourse  of  nations  been  pre- 


THEOLOGY   OF  INVENTIONS.  77 

viously  established,  there  could  have  been  no 
market  for  our  manufactured  goods,  nor  sup- 
plies of  provision  for  our  working  population. 
Besides,  had  the  invention  of  the  spinning  mill 
and  power  loom  preceded  the  use  of  steam,  all  our 
manufactories  must  have  been  established  on 
the  banks  of  this,  or  that  rural  stream,  and,  con- 
sequently, instead  of  our  seaports  becoming  the 
marts  of  merchandise,  existing  towns  would 
have  sunk  in  decay.  Kural  villages  might  have 
risen  in  the  mountain  recess  around  the  busy 
factory,  but  our  modern  cities,  adorned  by  the 
residences  of  our  merchant  princes,  could  have 
had  no  existence.  The  carriage  inland  would 
have  at  once  reduced  the  profits,  and  retarded 
the  progress,  while  the  want  of  a  proper  relation 
between  the  powers  of  production,  and  the  chan- 
nels of  consumption,  would  have  deranged  the 
harmonizing  influences  of  the  social  structure, 
and  have  produced  revolution  and  ruin  to  the 
body  politic.  But  that  Infinite  Wisdom  which 
compounded  the  elements  of  water  so  as  to  pro- 
duce steam  in  given  circumstances — that  Al- 
mighty Power  which  deposited  the  beds  of  coal 
and  iron — that  boundless  Beneficence  which  em- 
braced man  in  all  his  relations  and  necessities, 
so  arranged  the  varied  revolutions  of  the  wheels 
of  Providence  that  each  discovery  should  turn 


78  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

up  at  the  appropriate  period,  and  that  all  united 
should  glorify  their  Divine  Author. 

THE   POWER    LOOM. 

To  refer  but  once  more  to  the  successive  de- 
velopment of  inventions,  the  wisdom  and  good- 
ness of  God  are  manifest  in  the  spinning  mill 
taking  precedence  of  the  power  loom.  Without 
the  former,  the  latter  would  have  been  utterly 
unnecessary.  The  spinning  mill,  producing 
yarn  from  the  raw  material  with  such  velocity, 
without  the  power  loom  to  convert  it  with 
equal  rapidity  into  the  destined  fabrics,  would 
not  only  have  disturbed  the  balance  of  labor, 
but  have  entirely  failed  to  accomplish  the  de- 
signs, which  both  united,  are  destined  to  effect. 
Destitute  of  either,  or  of  both,  at  the  present 
time,  our  country  could  not  compete  with  other 
countries  where  labor  is  cheap,  nor  take  the 
lead,  as  it  now  does,  in  the  foreign  marts  of  mer- 
chandise. 

It  is  freely  admitted  that,  in  the  transition 
from  the  distaff,  or  the  matron's  domestic  wheel, 
to  the  merchant  prince's  spinning  mill,  priva- 
tion, suffering,  and  disappointment  must  be 
borne,  by  interested  parties.  And  in  passing  from 
the  hand  to  the  power  loom,  personal  disadvan- 
tages may  be  experienced.  So  apparent  was 
this  fact,  and  so  keenly  were  the  sympathies  and 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  79 

selfishness  of  men  enlisted,  that  Arkwright, 
with  his  spinning  mill,  was  driven  by  riotous 
opposition  from  Preston  to  Nottingham  ;  while 
even  later  in  the  progress  of  invention,  Cart- 
wright's  factory  with  500  looms  was  maliciously 
and  wilfully  burnt  to  the  ground.  But  as  well 
might  man  attempt  to  close  the  gates  of  the 
East,  to  prevent  the  rising  of  the  sun  of  nature, 
as  to  turn  back  or  restrain  the  heavenly  im- 
parted movements  of  the  wheels  of  Providence. 
The  persecution  of  an  inventor  of  machinery  has 
only  the  sooner  attracted  men  to  the  considera- 
tion of  its  importance,  just  as  the  persecution  of 
the  witnesses  for  truth  extended  and  established 
their  living  testimony.  Taking  his  stand  point 
on  self-interest,  and  embracing  within  the  com- 
pass of  his  vision,  his  isolated  importance,  man 
will  persecute  his  fellow  if  supposed  to  cross  his 
path.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  let  the  glory  of 
God  be  the  centre  principle  of  action,  men,  and 
all  that  pertains  to  their  personal  or  relative  in- 
terests, will  be  viewed  in  their  relations  to  the 
moral  government  of  God.  And  thus  it  will  be 
manifest,  that,  while  one  portion,  and  that  a 
small  minority  in  the  great  family,  is  suffering 
reverses,  another  portion  of  the  human  race  is 
reaping  the  benefit  of  the  change  introduced  by 
the  invention  of  machinery.  What  is  the  ulti- 
mate object  in  converting  the  raw  material  into 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

mechanical  fabrics  ?  Not  assuredly  the  aggran- 
dizement of  the  Western  planter  ;  neither  is  it  for 
the  acquisition  of  wealth  to  the  enterprizing 
spinner  ;  nor  is  it  simply  for  the  distribution  of 
wages  to  the  operative  classes.  The  clothing  and 
the  comfort  of  the  human  family  is  the  design 
of  God,  who  provided  the  material,  the  ma- 
chinery, and  the  skill  of  the  manufacturer.  He 
who  made  coats  of  skins,  and  clothed  our  first 
parents  on  leaving  Paradise,  has,  by  a  variety  of 
substances  and  instrumentality,  furnished  the 
wardrobes  of  their  erring  descendants.  Conse- 
quently, all  should  rejoice  together  in  the  exten- 
sion of  the  productive  powers,  of  machinery,  as 
keeping  pace  with  the  increasing  necessities  of 
the  human  family,  so  that  the  agriculturist,  the 
merchant,  the  artizan,  and  the  laborer,  may 
each  be  enabled  to  say  in  the  spirit  of  gratitude, 
"  Every  good  gift,  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from 
above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of 
Lights,  with  whom  there  is  no  variableness, 
neither  shadow  of  turning." 

THE   RAILWAY   AND    ELECTRIC    TELEGRAPH. 

These  are  taken  in  conjunction,  because, 
though  there  is  a  difference  of  time  in  their  in- 
vention, they  are  to  be  viewed  rather  as  different 
departments  in  one  complicated  mechanism.  If 
the  spinning  mill  and  power-loom  were  the 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  81 

great  commercial  phenomenon  of  the  first  quar- 
ter of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  railway  and 
electric  telegraph  unquestionably  occupy  the 
same  position  in  the  second.  Nothing  of  a 
merely  mechanical  kind,  in  modern  times,  has 
produced  such  vast  changes,  or  been  followed  by 
so  many  beneficial  results.  Of  all  human  inven- 
tions— the  alphabet,  the  manufacture  of  paper, 
and  the  printing  press  excepted — those  inventions 
which  abridge  distance  have  done  most  for  the 
civilization  of  our  species.  It  has  been  remarked 
by  an  acute  observer  of  historical  changes*  that 
"  every  improvement  in  the  means  of  locomotion 
benefits  mankind  morally  and  intellectually,  as 
well  as  materially,  and  not  only  facilitates  the 
interchange  of  the  various  productions  of  nature 
and  art,  but  tends  to  remove  national  and  pro- 
vincial antipathies,  and  to  bind  together  all  the 
branches  of  the  great  human  family."  By  way  of 
illustration  it  is  added,  "  In  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury the  inhabitants  of  London  were,  for  almost 
every  practical  purpose,  further  from  Reading 
than  they  are  now  from  Edinburgh,  and  farther 
from  Edinburgh  than  they  are  now  from  Vienna." 
If  it  is  thus  with  respect  to  the  rapid  locomotive 
transference  of  persons  or  traffic  from  one  city, 
or  country  to  another,  what  shall  be  said  of  the 
conveyance  of  thought  upon  the  wings  of  the 

*  Macaulay. 
4*  * 


82  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

lightning,  from  friend  to  friend  in  places  far 
remote  ?  Is  there  not  here  what  may  be  justly 
termed  the  mental  department  of  the  railway 
agency  ?  Modern  astronomy,  through  the  aid  of 
the  telescope,  has  disclosed  the  gloomy  belts  of 
Jupiter  and  the  silvery  rings  of  Saturn.  These 
are  glorious  discoveries  for  the  philosopher — giv- 
ing rise  to  most  interesting  speculations  and  conjec- 
tures, without  producing  much  practical  result  to 
the  human  family  as  a  whole,  or  altering  in  the 
slightest  degree  the  relations  of  space.  But  the 
discovery  of  the  materials,  and  the  construction 
by  human  skill,  of  iron  belts  across  the  continents 
and  islands  of  the  earth  ;  and,  in  connexion  with 
this,  the  circulation  and  direction  of  currents  of 
thought,  by  the  electric  wires,  from  shore  to 
shore — imbedded  in  the  soil,  suspended  in  the 
air,  or  submerged  in  the  sea — are  not  only  mar- 
vels of  science  to  astonish  the  learned,  but  also 
ministers  of  physical  and  mental  elevation  to 
the  human  race.  The  earth  itself  is  becoming 
a  vast  machine  ;  not  only  wheeling  its  inhabitants 
through  infinite  space,  but  encircled  with  a  me- 
chanical framework,  it  is  bearing  to  and  fro,  upon 
iron  rings,  its  living  millions,  while  its  electric 
net  work  of  wire  arteries  is  incessantly  throbbing 
with  the  quick  pulsations  of  human  thoughts. 

It  is  but  recently  since  the  first  locomotive 
engines  breathed  the  breath  of  defiance,  and  soun- 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  83 

ded  the  shrill  notes  of  absolute  triumph  upon  an 
English  railway  ;  and  yet  the  generation  which 
was  startled  by  the  prospective  announcement 
of  these  probable  futurities,  has  lived  to  see  the 
face  of  the  country  and  the  aspect  of  society 
completely  changed  by  their  agency.  Though 
feeble  attempts  were  made  in  the  direction  of 
railway  discovery  in  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  from  1841  to  1850  may  be  termed  the 
period  of  locomotive  progress.  During  these  ten 
years,  841  parliamentary  Acts  were  passed  for 
the  construction  of  railways  in  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  to  the  extent  of  10,705  miles.  At  the 
close  of  1850,  notwithstanding  the  number  which 
were  abandoned  when  the  'mania'  subsided, 
6621  miles  had  been  opened  for  public  traffic. 
The  passengers  conveyed  during  this  year  were 
66,840,175,  who  paid  fares  amounting  to  the 
enormous  sum  of  £6,465,575.  Add  to  these  the 
railways  of  the  continent  and  of  America,  how 
vast  the  exertion,  and  how  mighty  must  be  the 
influence  of  this  invention  upon  these  countries, 
and  upon  the  world  ?  Still  more  rapid  and 
more  wonderful  has  been  the  development  of 
the  telegraph.  Mechanical  telegraphs  on  a  small 
scale  and  for  special  purposes  on  sea  and  land 
preceded  the  invention  of  the  railway,  but  the 
electric  mechanical  telegraph  is  of  very  modern 
construction.  In  1837  the  first  of  these  was 


84  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

patented  by  Messrs.  Cooke  &  Wheatstone,*  and 
laid  down  upon  the  London  and  Blackwall  Kail- 
way.  Year  after  year  patented  some  new  im- 
provement, and  line  after  line  began  to  breathe 
through  this  channel  of  communication.  The  close 
of  the  year  1849  found  in  Britain,  Prussia  and 
the  United  States  of  America,  no  less  than  14,000 
miles  of  suspended  or  insulated  wire,  transmit- 
ting with  lightning  speed,  the  thoughts  of  men 
separated  by  the  breadth  of  a  continent  or  the 
length  of  an  island.  But  1855  can  boast  of  still 
mightier  triumphs  !  The  depths  of  the  sea  have 
been  traversed  by  the  magic  conductor.  France 
can  converse  with  England,  and  Scotland  with 
Ireland,  more  quickly  than  two  friends  at  oppo- 
site sides  of  a  spacious  street,  could  meet  and 
give  each  other  a  morning  salutation  !  Nor  is 
this  all.  The  daily  news  of  a  distant  campaign 
can  be  transmitted  from  capital  to  capital  of 
kingdoms  far  remote  in  space,  though  united  in 
purpose  and  policy.  Nay  farther,  while  we 
write,  the  Mediterranean  Electric  Company  is 
on  the  point  of  dispatching  their  cable,  which  is 
shortly  to  complete  the  telegraphic  communication 
between  London  and  Algiers.  Last  year  110  miles 
of  cable  were  sent  out  from  England  and  laid  down 
between  Spezzia  and  the  most  northern  point  of 
Corsica.  The  communication  is  now  completed 

*  Knight's  Cyclopedia. 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  85 

from  London  to  Cagliari,  in  the  south  of  Sardinia 
and  the  line  from  Algiers  to  Cape  Borran,  on  the 
African  coast,  was  opened  last  January,  so  that 
nothing  is  now  required  to  complete  the  work 
but  a  submarine  cable  from  Cape  Spartivento, 
adjoining  Cagliari  to  Borran,  which  is  at  present 
prepared  and  coiled  in  the  hold  of  the  ship, 
Result.  This  cable  is  150  miles  long  and  weighs 
1200  tons.  The  most  astounding  announcement 
remains — "  The  company  anticipates  that  in  two 
years  and  a  half  it  will  have  a  direct  communi- 
cation with  Bombay,  and  from  thence  by  tele- 
graphs, already  at  work  in  the  Presidencies, 
to  Calcutta."  Is  not  a  similar  announcement 
looming  in  the-  distance  as  regards  the  American 
continent,  and  the  still  more  distant  region  of 
Australia  ?  These  latter  achievements  once 
realized,  the  earth  is  subdued  to  human  inter- 
course, and  the  heaven-directed  intellect,  which 
has  obtained  the  victory  over  wind  and  tide, 
shall  start  afresh  on  higher  and  more  mysterious 
discoveries,  and  appropriation  of  the  elements  of 
nature,  created  and  preserved  for  the  benefit  of 
man.  Even  noiv  "  many  are  running  to  and  fro" 
— then  "  shall  knowledge  be  so  increased"  that  the 
world  shall  be  scientifically  as  well  as  spiritually 
illuminated. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  draw  any  contrast  between 
the  modes  of  traveling  in  ancient  and  modern 


86  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

times.  The  present  generation  have  not  yet  for- 
gotten the  tedious  wintry  days,  and  dreary  nights, 
of  the  swiftest  coaches — inventions  which,  in  their 
day  contrasted  with  the  pack-horse,  or  the  lum- 
bering wagon,  as  our  railway  carriages  now 
do,  with  the  best  appointed  mail  in  the  coaching 
system.  Nor  is  it  to  our  purpose  to  place  in 
opposition  the  foot  runner  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  the  Electric  Telegraph  of  our  own 
day.  To  every  reflecting  mind  the  changes  are 
astonishing,  while  to  every  philanthropist,  the 
influences  resulting  from  these  changes  must  give 
rise  to  the  most  enlarged  expectations  of  future 
progress,  and  universal  advantage.  In  the  mean 
time,  we  desire  to  contemplate  the  providential 
aspects  of  these  inventions,  as  regards  the  time 
of  their  discovery,  and  their  relations  to  each 
other,  or  to  previously  existing  machinery. 

Had  railways  been  sooner  constructed  in  Brit- 
ain, ordinary  roads,  such  as  are  now  in  general 
use,  could  never  have  been  formed.  It  was 
absolutely  necessary,  for  the  progress  of  the 
country,  as  a  whole,  and  for  the  development  of 
its  vast  resources,  that  good  roads  should  be 
constructed  through  every  agricultural  and 
mineral  district.  Had  Kailway  Acts  preceded 
Turnpike  Acts  in  British  legislation,  future 
generations  might  have  been  for  ages  struggling 
through  the  mire  of  ancient  bye-paths,  and  ford- 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  87 

ing  the  rivers  as  our  ancestors  did  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Of  this  period  it  is  said  by  a 
living  historian,'-'  that  even  the  "highways  ap- 
pear to  have  been  far  worse  than  might  have 
been  expected  from  the  degree  of  wealth  and 
civilization  which  the  nation  had  even  then  at- 
tained. On  the  best  lines  of  communication 
the  ruts  were  deep,  the  descents  precipitous,  and 
the  way  often  such  as  it  was  scarcely  possible  to 
distinguish,  in  the  dusk,  from  unenclosed  heath 

and  fen,  which  lay  on  both  sides It 

was  only  in  fine  weather  that  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  road  was  available  for  wheeled  vehicles. 
Often  the  mud  lay  deep  on  the  right  and  left ; 
and  only  a  narrow  track  of  firm  ground  rose 
above  the  quagmire."  Still  heavier  calamities 
at  times  awaited  the  traveller,  when  his  way 
was  completely  intercepted  by  the  rising  flood, 
or  cut  short  by  the  armed  highwayman.  To 
prepare  for  railways,  or  to  enjoy  their  benefit,  it 
was  necessary  that  the  nation  should  struggle 
through  the  operation  of  making  roads  and 
building  bridges,  and,  indeed,  in  a  mechanical 
point  of  view,  both  were  necessary  to  the  rapid 
construction  of  modern  railways.  The  arts  of  ex- 
cavating, embanking,  and  bridging,  evolved  in 
the  formation  of  the  common  roads,  prepared  the 
modern  engineer  for  the  execution  of  gigantic 

*  Macaulay. 


88  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

works  in  the  construction  of  railways,  and  thus, 
while  the  apprenticeship  of  construction  was  in 
progress,  the  country  became  intersected  with 
roads,  at  once  accommodating  the  public,  and  fur- 
nishing channels  of  transit  for  the  railway  traffic. 
Though  the  iron  roads  of  modern  times  may 
intersect  a  country,  stations  can  only  be  placed 
at  considerable  distances,  otherwise  the  speed  is 
retarded  by  frequent  stoppages,  and  the  expense 
increased  by  railway  officials,  consequently,  com- 
mon roads  will  still  be  required,  both  in  the 
city  and  the  rural  districts,  not  only  as  channels 
of  local  intercourse,  but  also  as  feeders  for  the  rail- 
way's gigantic  commerce.  With  these  the  coun- 
try was  gradually  furnished  during  an  age  of 
peace  and  prosperity,  and  the  best  leading  roads 
of  both  kingdoms  have  been  so  far  redeemed, 
that  a  moderate  expenditure  will  maintain  them 
in  permanent  repair.  Could  funds  have  been 
raised  for  the  construction  of  these  since  the 
Kailway  mania  ?  Verily  not  !  consequently  it  is 
evident  that  an  All- wise  Providence  was  overrul- 
ing and  directing  the  policy  of  man,  so  as  to 
accomplish  the  results  which,  in  combination 
and  harmony,  astonish  the  world.  Individual 
and  local  sufferers  there  may,  and  must  be,  in  any 
of  these  radical  changes  which  affect  and  benefit 
the  masses,  but  the  good  of  the  whole  is  the 
purpose  of  the  moral  Governor  ,  and  all  individ- 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  89 

ual  and  local  disappointment  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered as  checks  upon  selfishness,  and  lessons  in 
philanthropy. 

OBJECTION. 

It  may  be  objected  that  the  argument  is  only 
local,  and  cannot  be  legitimately  adduced 
in  support  of  a  general  fact  or  principle.  It 
may  be  said,  "  Is  not  America  an  exception  to 
this  rule  of  priority  ?  Are  not  railways  in  many 
of  the  Western  States,  passing  through  the  dense 
forests  and  prairie  plains,  where  no  trace  of 
human  labor  has  been  found  in  the  formation 
of  roads  ?"  This  fact  is  at  once  admitted, 
though  the  reasoning  founded  upon  it  is  no  re- 
futation of  our  argument.  America,  unlike  the 
Isle  of  Britain,  has  its  frosty  winter  of  many 
months,  during  which  the  traveller  skims  the 
snowy  wreath  with  his  sledge,  upon  the  icy 
tramway,  or  crosses  at  pleasure,  regardless  of 
ford  or  bridge,  the  majestic  ice-bound  river 
with  his  lumbering  waggon.  Nor  are  the  sum- 
mer months  an  exception  -to  the  ease  and 
freedom  of  transit.  By  the  intense  heat  of  the 
sun's  rays,  the  ruts  and  pools  of  the  unformed 
road  vanish,  and  even  the  moisture  of  the  fen 
and  swamp  are  so  absorbed,  that  the  traveller 
may  pursue  his  journey  at  pleasure,  or  convey 
his  merchandise  to  the  city,  the  steamboat,  or 


90  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

the  railway.  In  consequence  of  the  climate, 
and  geological  formation  of  Britain,  such  modes 
of  transit  could  never  have  been  realized.  To 
its  present  greatness  common  roads  are  ab- 
solutely necessary,  as  well  as  railways,  and 
we  cannot  too  much  appreciate  the  Divine  dis- 
play of  wisdom  and  goodness,  in  giving  us  both, 
in  the  relation  of  time  in  which  they  have  been 
introduced. 

COMMERCE   AND   RAILWAYS. 

The  relations  of  time  are  peculiarly  striking, 
as  regards  the  development  of  commerce,  and 
the  accumulation  of  wealth,  so  far  preceding 
the  construction  of  railways.  The  antecedent 
development  of  the  cotton  trade,  by  machinery, 
rendered  necessary  such  modes  of  transit  as  are 
now  employed.  While  the  domestic  wheel,  or 
even  the  spinning  jenny,  were  preparing  the  raw 
material  for  the  hand-looms,  intelligence  travelling 
for  weeks,  or  goods  for  months,  before  reaching 
their  destination,  was  felt  to  be  no  inconvenience 
in  regard  to  time.  But  when  the  spinning  mill 
came  to  devour  the  cotton  by  the  bale,  and  the 
power  loom  to  suck  up  its  twisted  fibres  with  in- 
satiable appetite — pouring  forth  its  ever-varying 
fabrics  by  the  million — it  became  a  mercantile 
necessity  that  the  steamboat  should  plough  the 
briny  waves  to  distant  regions,  with  somewhat  of 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  91 

mechanical  precision,  and  that  railways  should 
transfer  her  freights  on  land,  to  the  manufactory 
or  the  warehouse  with  corresponding  velocity. 
At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  whole 
annual  import  of  cotton  to  Manchester  did  not 
amount  to  two  millions  of  pounds,  a  quantity, 
whicli  would  now  hardly  supply  the  demand  of 
forty-eight  hours.*  Such  a  change,  in  the  powers 
of  production,  must  either  be  succeeded  by  corre- 
sponding changes  in  the  means  of  transference,  or 
be  absolutely  checked  and  retarded.  But  progress 
and  not  retrogression,  is  the  natural  principle 
embodied  in  the  history  of  the  arts  and  sciences  ; 
consequently,  the  relations  of  steam  and  manu- 
facture are  established  and  regulated  by  inherent 
influences,  communicated  and  directed  by  an 
all-wise  Providence. 

In  the  constitution  of  the  human  system, 
mind  takes  precedence  of  matter  in  mechanical 
action.  So  also,  in  the  development  of  the  arts 
of  industry,  in  connexion  with  commerce,  it  was 
necessary  that  there  should  be  discovered 
methods  of  conveying  intelligence,  more  rapid 
than  the  transit  of  goods  by  the  steamship  or 
the  railway,  and  hence,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  at  the  appointed  time,  the  Electric  Tele- 
graph astonished  the  world.  The  rapidity  of  con- 
version from  the  raw  material  to  the  finished 

*  Macaulay's  History. 


92  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

fabric,  required  intelligence  regarding  the  state 
of  distant  markets  ;  otherwise  the  importer  might 
be  ruined  by  an  unprofitable  speculation.  The 
improved  postage  supplied  the  channels  of  intel- 
ligence sufficiently  early,  until  outstripped,  by 
the  railway  or  steamboat,  conveying  the  goods 
as  quickly  as  the  intelligence  regarding  them. 
Then,  and  not  till  then,  did  the  telegraph  take 
its  place  in  the  temple  of  discovery,  inconceiv- 
ably distancing  all  former  speed,  annihilating 
space,  and  placing  side  by  side  in  commercial 
and  political  intelligence,  the  marts  and  manu- 
factories of  national  merchandise.  Is  there  not 
wisdom  in  such  mysterious  arrangements,  beyond 
the  most  enlarged  comprehension  of  human 
sagacity  ?  The  electricity  still  existed,  and  was 
not  unfrequently  soliciting  attention  by  its 
destructive  power  in  the  bursting  thunderbolt, 
but  man  obtained  not  the  key  to  its  hidden 
storehouse,  nor  the  skill  to  restrain  or  direct  its 
current,  until  the  world  was  prepared  to  employ 
its  agency  and  appreciate  its  benefits.  As  in  the 
processes  of  nature,  there  is  no  waste  in  the  pro- 
portionate adjustments  of  cause  and  effect,  so 
also  in  Providence  the  demand  and  supply  are 
mysteriously  regulated,  so  that  each  invention, 
though  distant  and  separate,  is  fitted  into  its 
appropriate  place  at  a  given  time,  and  is  found 
not  only  to  be  self-adjusting  in  its  local  position, 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  93 

but  also  a  joint  regulator  of  the  movements  of 
all  with  which  it  is  co-existing.  Besides,  it 
possesses  a  latent  power  which  sooner  or  later 
will  defy  legislation,  dispel  the  clouds  of  preju- 
dice, and  work  out  the  designs  and  purposes  of 
the  universal  Benefactor. 

RELATION   OF    CAPITAL   TO   RAILWAY   DEVELOP- 
MENT. 

The  commercial  prosperity  of  Britain  was  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  the  present  development  of 
the  railway  system.  The  precedence  of  Britain 
in  manufacture  has  concentrated  wealth,  and 
furnished  opportunities  of  investing  capital  and 
employing  labor,  which  have  given  our  country 
a  mercantile  superiority  in  the  marts  of  mer- 
chandise at  home  and  abroad.  Capital  profit- 
ably invested,  and  labor  judiciously  directed, 
lay  the  foundation  of  national  wealth  and  social 
prosperity.  National  wealth,  acquired  by  na- 
tional industry,  and  invested  with  commercial 
intelligence,  must  necessarily  encourage,  and  will 
liberally  furnish  the  means  of  mechanical  im- 
provement. Thus,  the  national  wealth  rapidly 
accumulated  by  the  manufactures  of  the  first 
quarter  of  the  present  century,  enabled  the 
second  quarter  to  develope  its  railway  system, 
and  to  bear  the  shock  of  its  temporary  railway 
crisis.  At  no  former  period  could  so  much  cap- 


94  THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS. 

ital  have  been  withdrawn  from  existing  com- 
merce and  manufacture,  and  turned  into  an 
entirely  new  channel,  without  destruction  to  the 
general  trade  of  the  country  ;  nor  could  such 
commercial  and  agricultural  distress  have  been 
endured  previously  without  ruin  to  the  social 
fabric.  Even  when  Chartism  was  at  its  height, 
and  the  country,  distracted  by  commercial  dis- 
tress, accompanied  by  famine,  the  relative  in- 
terests of  the  various  classes  drew  closer  the 
bonds  of  union,  while  the  capital  at  stake,  and 
the  constitutional  liberty  enjoyed,  elicited  such 
a  demonstration  of  loyalty  to  the  throne  that  in 
one  day  the  lowering  cloud  of  insurrection  was 
dispelled  from  the  city  of  London,  and  the 
sophistical  bond  of  the  democratic  charter  for 
ever  dissolved.  At  this  very  period,  the  con- 
struction of  railways  lessened  at  once  the  misery 
and  the  social  danger,  by  giving  employment  to 
those  very  parties  who  were  nearest  the  point  of 
starvation,  and  most  likely  to  be  roused  in 
physical  force  demonstrations.  By  being  scat- 
tered over  Britain,  their  power  was  diminished, 
and  their  local  ranks  thinned,  so  that  by  the 
time  the  Kailways  had  been  completed,  they 
were  transferred  beyond  the  Atlantic  by  emi- 
gration, or  absorbed  in  the  social  community. 
Is  there  nothing  in  all  this,  but  fortuitous  coin- 
cidences falling  out  at  random  ?  They  must  be 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  95 

blind  indeed,  and  verily  ungrateful,  who  do  not 
see  and  adore  that  God  who  is  the  "  moral  Gov- 
ernor among  the  nations/' 

MINERAL  RELATIONS  TO  THE  CONSTRUCTION  AND 
WORKING   OF    RAILWAYS. 

The  relation  between  the  railway  system  and 
the  sources  from  which  all  its  machinery  are 
constructed  and  sustained  in  operation,  furnishes 
another  convincing  argument  that  the  time  of 
its  development  was  the  most  appropriate,  and 
such  a  time  as  infinite  wisdom  alone  could  de- 
termine. Iron  and  Coal  are  essential  elements, 
and  relatively  considered,  occupy  a  chief  place 
in  the  formation  and  constant  working  of  rail- 
ways. The  procuring  of  these  in  sufficient 
quantity,  draws  most  heavily  on  human  skill 
and  labor.  In  reviewing  the  political  and 
scientific  history  of  our  country,  we  are  convinced 
that,  at  no  earlier  period  could  railways,  as  now 
established,  have  been  constructed  or  employed. 
Coal  fields  existed  in  abundance,  but  hitherto 
mining  had  not  attained  that  perfection  which 
was  necessary  to  meet  the  increasing  demand  of 
modern  times  ;  neither  had  the  stationary  engine 
at  the  pit's  mouth  become  auxiliary  to  the  loco- 
motive on  the  rail.  Iron  was  also  deposited  in 
exhaustless  stores,  but  the  quantity  requisite 
had  not  been  obtained  ;  neither  had  the  machi- 


96  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

nery  destined  to  roll  out  its  bars,  in  adaptation  to 
the  dimensions  of  the  rail,  any  place  among 
mechanical  inventions.  As  late  as  the  second 
half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a  great  pro- 
portion of  the  iron  used  in  this  country  was  im- 
ported from  abroad  ;  and  the  whole  quantity  cast 
here  annually,  seems  not  to  have  exceeded  ten 
thousand  tons.  At  present,  the  trade  is  presumed 
to  be  unprosperous,  if  less  than  a  million  of  tons 
are  produced  in  a  year.  These  comparative 
statistics  show  a  close  relation  between  the 
mineral  dug  out  and  railway  development.  Un- 
til the  mists  of  prejudice  were  dispelled,  by  the 
extension  of  practical  knowledge,  and  until 
legislation  was  guided  by  more  enlarged  con- 
ceptions of  our  national  resources  ;  many  of  the 
most  important  branches  of  industry  were  posi- 
tively discouraged.  It  was  thus  with  the  iron 
trade  of  Britain.  Even  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
fears  became  general  regarding  the  consumption 
of  wood,  and  complaints  were  made  of  whole 
forests  being  cut  down,  for  the  purpose  of  feeding 
the  iron  furnaces — coals  not  then  being  used  for 
melting  the  ore.  This  led  to  injudicious  legisla- 
tion, and  Parliament  passed  an  act  prohibiting 
the  iron  masters  of  that  age  from  burning  timber. 
This  caused  the  trade  to  languish  for  a  consider- 
able time,  though  it  doubtless  tended  to  stimu- 
late, at  a  later  period,  the  mining  for  coals.  It 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  97 

is  clear  to  a  demonstration  that,  in  such  a  state 
of  mining  as  then  existed,  it  would  have  been 
utterly  impossible,  by  any  expenditure  of  wealth, 
to  have  procured  the  requisite  iron,  or  to  have 
kept  the  engines  in  motion  by  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  coal.  In  the  last  year  of  the  reign  of 
Charles  the  Second,  it  was  the  boast  of  the 
'  Londoners/  that  two  hundred  and  eighty  thou- 
sand chaldrons,  that  is  to  say,  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  tons  were  brought  to 
the  Thames,  At  present  nearly  three  millions 
and  a  half  of  tons  are  consumed  yearly,  by  the 
metropolis  alone  ;  and  the  whole  annual  produce 
cannot,  on  the  most  moderate  calculation,  be 
estimated  at  less  than  thirty-five  millions  of  tons.* 
It  is  evident,  then,  that  railways  were  invented 
arid  have  been  brought  into  general  use,  as  early 
as  the  state  of  commerce  required  their  aid,  and 
as  soon  as  the  state  of  mining  admitted  of  their 
construction,  and  continuous  operation.  Lead- 
ing inventions  may  be  retarded,  by  short-sighted 
legislation,  but  evolved  in  their  natural  order  of 
time,  each  becomes  auxiliary  to  the  general  de- 
velopment of  mechanical  phenomena,  and  all 
unite  in  benefiting  the  human  species. 

It  is  not  less  remarkable,  in  respect  of  time, 
that  Gutta  Percha  was  discovered  at  the  very 
period  when  philosophers  and  mechanics  had  felt 

*  Knight's  Cyclopedias. 
5* 


98  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

the  absolute  need  of  some  non-conducting  sub- 
stance, in  which  to  encase  the  electric  wires  for 
submersion  in  the  mighty  deep  ?  Being  the 
gum  of  the  percha  tree  which  grows,  and  which 
has  probably  grown  from  time  immemorial  in 
Singapore,  Borneo,  and  various  other  Eastern 
Islands,  is  it  not  amazing  that  a  substance  so 
easily  procured  by  tapping  the  bark,  should 
never  have  been  known  in  England  until  the 
year  1843,  when  Dr.  Montgomerie  presented  a 
specimen  to  the  Society  of  Arts  in  London.  It 
has  now  become  a  regular  article  of  commerce, 
being  used  in  the  preparation  of  innumerable 
articles,  from  the  sole  of  a  shoe,  to  the  official  seal 
attached  to  patents,  and  other  similar  documents 
issued  by  state  officials,  besides  ornamental  work 
of  all  descriptions.  But  the  insulating  power  of 
gutta  percha,  as  a  non-conductor,  and  shield  for 
the  submarine  telegraph,  is  evidently  its  primary 
purpose  as  yet  known,  and  it  is  the  only  sub- 
stance yet  discovered  that  could  supply  the  want 
formerly  experienced  in  every  attempt  at  sub- 
mersion of  the  wires.  Has  not  this  tree  been 
created,  preserved,  and  shown  to  man,  by  the  God 
of  providence,  as  certainly  as  the  renovating 
tree  was  shown  to  Moses,  at  the  wells  of  Marah, 
by  the  God  of  grace  and  salvation. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  pursue  this  branch  of  the 
argument,  by  adducing  historical  illustrations  in 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  99 

respect  to  the  state  of  society,  as  related  to,  and  in 
connexion  with  other  inventions.  The  argument 
as  presented  may  be  carried  through  the  entire 
region  of  mechanical  phenomena.  It  has  been 
shown  that  the  elements  are  all  of  God,  that  they 
have  been  preserved  from  age  to  age,  by  almighty 
power,  and  that  all  the  circumstances  have  been 
arranged  for  their  development,  at  the  time  best 
adapted  to  the  existing  state  of  the  human 
family.  Though  in  regard  to  the  early  history 
of  some  inventions,  they  might  seem  as  if  dis- 
covered before  the  time.  But  what  has  been  the 
result  of  this  precocity  ?  Such  have  fallen  still- 
born upon  the  world.  Men  have  not  discovered 
their  utility,  or  there  was  the  want  of  some  corre- 
sponding element  in  the  material,  or  some  im- 
pelling influence  in  the  commercial  world,  and 
they  consequently  wasted  away.  But  these 
efforts  of  genius,  though  failures,  were  the  signal 
tokens  of  future  triumphs.  The  same  materials, 
placed  in  other  hands,  modified  or  proportioned 
by  other  ideas,  and  surrounded  by  other  circum- 
stances, at  once  astonish  and  enrich  the  nations. 
Apparently  broken  links  there  may  be,  in  the 
providential  chain  of  scientific  discovery,  and 
mechanical  invention,  but  the  time  will  come 
when  in  its  full  suspension  in  the  sight  of  a  re- 
novated world,  each  end  will  be  seen  as  attached 
to  the  throne  of  the  moral  Governor,  and  every 


100  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

link  in  the  place  which  infinite  wisdom  has  as- 
signed it,  and  into  which  it  has  been  fitted  by 
almighty  power.  Is  there  not  enough,  even  now, 
in  the  progressive  development  of  machinery,  to 
convince  the  most  sceptical  rejector  of  an  over- 
ruling providence,  that  God  is  there  in  its  first 
elements  of  thought — its  embodiment  in  mater- 
ial form,  and  its  ultimate  results  upon  the  physi- 
cal, intellectual,  and  moral  condition  of  the 
world.  True  it  is,  in  the  region  of  artificial 
phenomena  as  well  as  of  that  which  is  natural. 

"The  Globe  knoweth  not  increase,  either  of  matter  or  of 

spirit. 
Atoms  and  thoughts  are  used  again,  mixing  in  varied 

combinations  ; 
And  though  by  moulding  them  anew  thou  makest  them 

thine  own, 

Yet  have  they  served  thousands,  and  all  their  merit  is  of 
t*.          God." 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  TENDENCY  OP  INVENTIONS,  A  PROOF  THAT  THEY  ABE  OP  GOD. 

FEW  will  be  disposed  to  deny  that  this  world, 
in  its  minute,  as  well  as  its  comprehensive  pro- 
vidential arrangements,  bears  unequivocal  testi- 
mony to  the  benevolent  designs  of  the  Creator. 
It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  the  constituent 
elements  of  which  it  is  composed,  without  the 
conviction  that  they  were  primarily  selected  and 
deposited  in  accordance  with  the  anticipated 
wants  of  the  human  family.  In  every  aspect 
there  appears  adaptation  to  the  physical  and 
mental  constitution  of  man,  whether  considered 
in  his  original  state,  or  fallen  and  depraved  con- 
dition. As  a  holy  and  happy  being,  he  had  few 
physical  wants  ;  but  such  as  he  experienced, 
were  amply  supplied  in  that  world  over  which 
he  obtained  dominion.  As  a  spiritual  being, 
made  in  the  Divine  image,  he  enjoyed  complete 
felicity  in  communion  with  God.  To  him,  as 
lord  of  creation,  all  nature  tendered  a  physical 
service  ;  but  vet  a  service  only  rendered  in 


102  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

obedience  to  the  dictates  of  his  mental  being, 
and  actually  elicited  through  the  operation  of 
his  own  physical  organization.  Nor  was  this  a 
constitutional  necessity  only,  it  was  the  law  of 
his  materio-mental  being,  corresponding  to  the 
law  judicially  announced,  and  to  the  charter  of 
privilege  munificently  granted  when  Adam  was 
commanded  to  "  be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and 
replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it,  and  have 
dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  and  over  every  living  thing  that 
moveth  upon  the  earth."  Subdue  the  earth  was 
the  primary  command,  and  the  claim  of  "  do- 
minion over  it"  seems  to  rest  upon  obedience 
to  this  injunction.  Until  the  human  family  has 
multiplied  so  as  to  replenish  the  earth,  that  sub- 
jection cannot  be  obtained,  nor  that  universal 
dominion  established.  Those  physical  and 
moral  revolutions  which  have  resulted  from  the 
introduction  of  sin,  do  not  make  void  the  pri- 
mary commission,  nor  cancel  its  obligations. 
Subdue  the  .earth  was  the  mandate  issued  to 
Noah  amidst  the  desolations  disclosed  by  the 
receding  deluge,  as  well  as  to  Adam  surrounded 
with  the  luxuriant  productions  of  Paradise. 
Subdue  the  earth  and  have  dominion  over  it  is 
the  Divine  mandate  addressed  to  their  posterity 
as  much  as  to  those  progenitors  of  the  human 
race  ;  and  until  the  work  is  accomplished,  the 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  103 

obligation  must  remain  immutable.  It  is  true 
that  human  capabilities,  mental  and  physical, 
were  impaired  by  the  shock  of  moral  evil,  and 
even  the  world  itself  was  convulsed  by  the 
thunder-bolt  of  Divine  wrath,  drawn  down  by  the 
electric  wire  of  human  guilt  ;  but  no  such 
changes,  whether  physical  or  moral,  could  alter 
the  divine  decree,  rescind  the  original  law,  nor 
release  humanity  from  primary  obligations. 
With  a  darker  intellect  and  a  weaker  constitu- 
tion— with  consequent  liability  to  exhausting 
fatigue  and  frequent  disappointment — with  a 
blighted  world  and  rebellious  subjects — man 
must,  from  age  to  age,  pursue  his  laborious 
course  until  the  original  purposes  of  his  Creator 
regarding  earth,  are  all  accomplished.  In  the 
beneficence  of  God  every  effort  is  accompanied 
by  a  present  benefit,  while  each  succeeding  dis- 
covery is  not  only  a  stimulus  to  future  exertion, 
but  also  a  re-echo  of  the  voice  of  the  original 
proprietor  as  saying  to  the  sons  of  men  "  subdue 
the  earth  and  have  dominion  over  it." 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  violation  of 
the  Divine  law  embodied  in  the  covenant  of 
works  could  abrogate  or  disannul  those  in- 
junctions which  had  respect  to  man's  duty  in 
regard  to  temporal  things.  Though  man  be- 
came a  rebel,  he  cannot  frustrate  the  pur- 
pose of  an  all-wise  God.  The  earth  was  made 


104       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

a  habitation  for  man,  and  sooner  or  later  shall 
it  be  inherited  by  the  sons  of  men.  Though  as 
a  person,  man,  the  moral  agent,  must  be  punished 
for  the  transgression  of  the  Divine  law,  yet  man 
as  an  instrument  shall  be  constrained  to  accom- 
plish the  divine  purposes.  So  comprehensive 
are  the  plans  of  infinite  wisdom,  that  reluctantly 
or  willingly  the  eternal  decree  shall  be  carried 
into  execution*  The  very  fact  which  separated 
man  from  his  Creator — the  fall  by  transgression 
— has  been  the  occasion  of  revealing,  not  only 
the  mystery  of  redemption,  but  also  the 
mysterious  economy  of  Providence.  The  latter 
is  subservient  to  the  former,  but  both  in  harmony 
reveal  the  glory  of  God.  In  both  there  is  full 
scope  for  the  free  agency  of  man,  the  person, 
while  there  is  also  retained  absolute  sovereignty 
over  the  actions  of  man,  the  instrument.  His 
motives,  and  efforts,  and  ends  may  be  selfish 
and  rebellious  ;  but  yet,  in  the  moral  govern- 
ment of  God,  they  are  so  over-ruled,  restrained, 
and  directed,  that  they  ultimately  accomplish 
the  Divine  purpose.  This  is  peculiarly  illus- 
trated in  the  history  of  Adam's  fall.  In  that 
sentence  of  condemnation  which  was  pronounced 
in  Paradise  by  offended  Deity,  the  primary  law 
of  labor  in  respect  to  man,  and  the  original 
purpose  of  God  to  subdue  the  earth  through  his 
instrumentality,  are  beautifully  intertwined. 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS,  105 

"  Cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake  ;  in  sorrow 
shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life  ; 
thorns  and  thistles  shall  it  hring  forth  unto  thee, 
and  thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field.  In  the 
sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  hread  till  thou 
return  unto  the  ground ;  for  out  of  it  was  thou 
taken;  for  dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt 
thou  return."  In  this  sentence  there  is  no  re- 
peal of  the  existing  law — no  absolution  from 
primary  obligation.  The  purpose  of  God  re- 
garding the  earth,  and  regarding  man  its  occu- 
pant, is  unchanged.  But  the  relations  of  man 
to  his  Creator,  and  all  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  is  destined  to  accomplish  the  divine 
purposes,  are  completely  altered.  There  is  uni- 
versal schism  in  the  natural  and  the  moral  world. 
The  heart  of  man  is  alienated  from  God  ;  his 
will  is  opposed  to  the  Divine  will,  nevertheless 
as  an  instrument  he  must  fulfil  his  destiny. 
Exercising  a  delegated  dominion  over  the  earth, 
the  active  duties  involved  in  subduing  it  were 
accompanied  with  sensations  of  unalloyed  plea- 
sure ;  but  having,  by  transgression,  forfeited 
that  dominion,  fallen  man  is  constrained  by  ne- 
cessity to  labor  as  a  slave,  while  the  pleasure 
of  labor  is  embittered  by  its  penal  characteris- 
tics. Irrespective  of  this,  the  work  originally 
indicated  must  be  accomplished.  Man  must 
retain  his  place  as  the  agent  by  which  it  shall 
5* 


106  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

be  effected.  But  in  the  mysterious  providence 
of  Grod,  the  work  of  subduing  the  earth  is  so 
planned  that  each  succeeding  generation  may  be 
amply  occupied,  and  also  realize  increasing 
benefits  in  proportion  to  the  progress  made, 
while  the  united  efforts  of  all  are  requisite  to 
carry  it  forward  to  final  consummation.  As  the 
various  workmen  in  the  erection  of  a  building 
individually  and  unitedly  contribute  towards  the 
completion  of  the  plan  designed  by  the  architect, 
so  the  human  family  is  gradually  filling  up  the 
comprehensive  plans  of  Providence  regarding  the 
world. 

Viewed  in  this  aspect,  there  appears  a  close 
connexion  between  man's  nature  and  his  duty 
as  a  creature.  Destined  for  occupation,  his 
wants  furnish  a  permanent  motive  where  his 
moral  obedience  fails  to  constrain  him  to  duty. 
In  the  appointment  of  heaven  the  increase  of 
his  wants  by  the  fall  counterbalances  the  reluc- 
tance of  his  rebellious  spirit,  so  that  he  renders 
as  an  instrument  that  obedience  which,  as  a 
moral  agent  he  declines  to  yield.  The  natural 
activity  of  his  constitution,  though  benumbed 
by  the  chilling  effects  of  sin,  is  stimulated  by 
stern  necessity  to  work  out  the  doings  of  Grod 
regarding  the  earth  as  his  temporary  habitation. 
Work  or  want  is  the  bye-law  of  actual  adminis- 
tration, which  even  savage  life  cannot  disregard, 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       107 

and  which  the  highest  state  of  refinement  can- 
not utterly  repeal.  All  must  earn  their  bread 
by  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  or  the  exercise  of 
the  brain  within  it.  From  the  very  constitu- 
tion of  things  both  are  brought  into  requisition 
in  every  department  of  human  occupation. 
From  the  sovereign  to  the  humblest  subject 
there  is  labor  in  procuring  supply  for  official, 
relative,  or  personal  wants.  If  the  hands  are 
freed  from  grinding  toil,  the  mind  will  be  taxed 
with  exhausting  activity  ;  and  even  where  both 
seem  to  be  emancipated  by  the  possession  of 
riches,  the  cares  of  preservation,  of  distribution, 
of  modes  of  increase,  are  found  as  harassing  to 
the  possessor,  as  if  both  head  and  hands  were 
employed  in  daily  labor.  Thus  it  is  found  in 
universal  experience,  that  "  All  things  are  full 
of  labor  ;  man  cannot  utter  it ;  the  eye  is  not 
satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  with  hearing." 
In  beholding  the  toiling  multitude,  we  may 
be  ready  to  inquire,  Whence  the  necessity  for 
this  incessant  labor  ?  Is  it  simply  by  way  of 
punishment  that  God  has  doomed  the  fallen  race 
to  work  that  life  may  be  preserved,  and  yet  in 
the  excess  of  work  demanded,  and  sometimes  in 
its  very  nature,  that  life  is  being  wasted  by  con- 
tinuous exhaustion  ?  This  might  seem  at  first 
sight  the  reason,  and  as  announced  in  the  sen- 
tence passed  upon  Adam,  it  is  no  doubt  presented 


108  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

as  an  element  in  the  penalty.  Indeed  the  toils 
of  human  life  have  been  adduced  as  an  argument 
that  man  is  fallen.  But  when  considered  in 
relation  to  the  comprehensive  plans  of  the  moral 
government,  labor  appears  in  the  aspect  of  a 
blessing.  It  is  at  once  a  check  upon  human 
depravity — a  preventive  of  crime,  and  the  source 
of  social  comfort ;  while  at  the  same  time  afford- 
ing a  wider  range  for  the  operation  of  relative 
affections.  The  fall  of  man  did  not  introduce 
but  only  increased  and  aggravated  human  labor. 
The  primary  law  was  announced  ere  yet  the 
bloom  of  Paradise  had  been  blighted  by  sin. 
"  The  Lord  God  took  the  man  and  put  him  into 
the  garden  of  Eden  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it." 
That  garden  was  planted  by  the  Divine  hand, 
with  every  tree  and  herb  good  for  food,  and 
pleasant  to  the  eye  ;  but  though  divinely  planted 
in  fructiferous  maturity,  they  were  committed 
to  the  care  of  our  first  father  "  to  dress  and  keep." 
It  is  also  evident,  from  the  primary  law  of  the 
Sabbath,  that  our  first  parents  were  destined  to 
active  labor  during  six  days  of  the  week,  else 
what  would  be  the  meaning  of  the  rest  of  the 
seventh  ?  It  is  evident  the  ground  was  not 
yet  under  the  effects  of  the  curse,  and  that  the 
earth  yielded  spontaneously  all  that  man  could 
require  ;  but  even  then  some  labor  was  necessary 
in  order  to  the  enjoyment  of  what  nature  so  abun- 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  109 

dantly  provided.  The  very  formation  of  man 
teaches  that  he  was  designed  for  some  species  of  • 
labor.  It  has  been  clearly  demonstrated  by 
comparative  anatomy  that  the  formation  of  all 
the  creatures  is  in  adaptation  to  their  habits  of 
life,  and  the  exercise  of  their  peculiar  instincts  ; 
as  well  as  to  the  place  which  they  are  des- 
tined to  fill  in  the  scale  of  creation.  The 
human  species  is  no  exception  to  this  univer- 
sal law  of  creation.  The  wonderful  organiza- 
tion of  man,  in  adaptation  to  the  work  given 
him  to  do,  has  been  already  noticed.  The  hu- 
man hand  furnishes  a  distinct,  and  irresistible 
argument  for  the  existence  of  God  ;  while  it 
affords  a  not  less  convincing  proof  that  man  was 
originally  designed  to  labor.  It  is  to  the  hand 
as  directed  by  an  intelligent  mind,  that  we  are 
indebted  for  all  mechanical  inventions. 

Taking  man's  constitution  as  the  index,  in 
accordance  with  universal  analogy,  it  is  evident 
that  labor  was  the  original  law  of  his  being. 
If  angels — pure  and  holy  spirits — are  actively 
employed  in  the  service  of  God — and  if  irrational 
creatures,  with  material  organization  are  destined 
to  a  certain  amount  of  labor,  in  prolonging 
their  existence,  may  it  not  be  legitimately  in- 
ferred that  man  also  combining  the  material  and 
the  mental  must  be  designed  for  activity  and 
labor.  Nor  is  this  all  that  raav  be  adduced 


110  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

from  the  nature  of  his  constitution.     It  is  clear 
-to  a  demonstration  that  without  labor,  either  in 
a   holy  or  a  fallen  state  man's  capabilities  and 
powers  could  never  be  disclosed.     Without  the 
arts  of  industry  many  of  his  latent  faculties  of 
invention  must  lie  for  ever  dormant,  and  the 
marvels  of  science  and  art  which  these  have  ex- 
hibited must  have  been  forever  lost  to  the  page 
of  human  history.     Indeed,  until  the  last  inven- 
tion of  genius  shall  be  constructed,  upon  the  eve 
of  the  world's  dissolution,  the  full  extent  of  man's 
mental  and  physical  capability  shall  not  be  made 
manifest.     It  thus  appears  that  while  labor  is 
necessary  to  man  in  his  individual  and  relative 
position,  it  is  also  necessary  to  exhibit  what  man 
was  as  God  made   him,  and   what   mysterious 
treasures  Divine  goodness  had  stored  up  at  crea- 
tion for  his  future  benefit  even  in  a  fallen  state. 
It  is  not  tlie/ac£  of  labor,  as  the  law  of  exist- 
ence, that  has  produced  human  misery.     Nor  is 
labor  in  itself  any  evidence  of  a  fallen  state.     It 
is  the  nature,  the  amount,  and  the  aggravating 
circumstances   in  which   labor  must   be   prose- 
cuted, that  tend  to  characterize  it  as  evil  in 
man's   estimation.     The   introduction  of  moral 
evil  has  deranged  the  nature  and  increased  the 
quantity  and  aggravated  the  circumstances   of 
human  toil.     Its  evils  are  not  inherent,  but  may 
all  be  traced  to  the  fountain  of  moral  evil.     In 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS,  111 

man's  original  constitution  there  was  absolute 
perfection.  The  finished  works  of  creation  were 
all  pronounced  "  very  good "  by  their  Divine 
Author.  Man's  mental  and  physical  constitution 
responded  harmoniously  to  the  works  of  nature, 
while  the  appropriation  of  what  infinite  goodness 
had  provided  was  but  the  increase  of  human 
happiness.  There  was  nothing  in  the  primary 
law  of  labor  repugnant  to  man's  tenderest  feel- 
ings. Activity  was  the  most  joyous  part  of  his 
existence.  He  could  run  without  being  weary, 
and  walk  without  fainting.  In  his  system  there 
was  no  weakness,  giving  rise  to  suffering  under 
exertion  ;  and  in  his  labor  there  was  no  dis- 
appointment, to  perplex  or  disturb  his  mental 
complacency.  The  duties  assigned  to  Adam  in 
Paradise  were  as  pleasant  to  his  entire  constitu- 
tion, as  the  prospect  of  his  luxuriant  garden  was 
to  his  organ  of  sight,  and  perception  of  beauty. 

It  was  the  curse — the  blight  of  sin — that 
changed  the  entire  aspect  of  human  employ- 
ment. Beneath  the  frown  of  an  angry  God,  the 
elements  of  nature  were  convulsed — the  earth 
became  not  only  barren,  but  thorns  and  thistles 
sprung  up  as  the  indigenous  productions  of  the 
soil.  The  original,  spontaneous,  vegetative  pow- 
ers of  earth  were  arrested,  so  that  to  man,  the  of- 
fender, it  could  only  yield  its  reluctant  produce, 
when  moistened  with  the  sweat  of  his  L*QW.  It 


112  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

is  therefore  clear  to  a  demonstration  that  the 
evils  of  labor  are  not  in  its  nature,  but  in  the 
quantity  necessary  to  subdue  the  soil  thus  blight- 
ed— in  the  liability  to  fatigue  and  exhaustion, 
inseparable  from  the  shattered  constitution  of 
man  as  fallen — and  from  the  circumstances, 
relative  and  social,  in  which  human  toil  must 
be  endured.  Labor  is  healthful  and  pleasant 
under  proper  regulations  ;  all  its  embittering 
elements  are  the  consequences  of  sin. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  in  ascending  from 
a  fallen  state  of  utter  destitution — such  as  that 
of  Adam,  thrust  out  from  the  garden,  to  a  future 
state  of  comparative  ease  and  comfort  such  as 
his  descendants  shall  attain  during  the  mil- 
lennium— the  toils  of  labor  must  be  endured, 
and  the  graces  of  faith  and  patience  duly  exer- 
cised and  strengthened.  The  human  family 
must  be  painfully  taught  what  has  been  forfeited 
physically,  as  well  as  -morally,  by  the  fall,  and 
thus  at  length,  through  bitter  experience,  be  ren- 
dered better  able  to  comprehend  and  appreciate, 
these  temporal  blessings  which  are  bestowed  by 
God,  though  communicated  through  interme- 
diate channels.  Besides,  in  the  moral  govern- 
ment of  God  all  events  and  instruments  are  so 
arranged  and  harmonized  as  to  accomplish  his 
purposes  and  show  forth  his  glory. 

This   ifi  peculiarly   illustrated   in  the  history 


THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS.  118 

of  human  toil.  To  man,  as  fallen,  the  law  of 
labor  is  of  the  utmost  importance  and  advan- 
tage. It  is  true  that  many  seem  to  speak  and 
to  act  as  if  labor  in  itself  were  the  curse  ;  but 
such  speak  unadvisedly  and  act  without  due 
reflection  upon  the  providence  of  God.  The 
entire  absence  of  labor  could  not  ameliorate  the 
condition  of  the  human  family,  while  the  de- 
praved passions  and  appetites  remain  unre- 
strained. Universal  idleness  in  such  circum- 
stances would  make  earth  one  wide-spread 
hot-bed  of  iniquity,  and  evoke  the  ghostly  fea- 
tures of  even  hell  itself !  Who  are  the  pests 
and  plagues  of  society,  but  such  as  are  idle, 
whether  found  in  the  ranks  of  wealth  or  the  rags 
of  poverty  ?  To  remove  human  labor  and  leave 
human  depravity,  would  deteriorate  rather  than 
improve  man's  condition.  There  was  mercy  as 
well  as  judgment  in  the  decree  which  enjoined 
him  to  "  subdue  the  earth,"  even  though  it  must 
be  "  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow/'  With  his  pres- 
ent constitution  he  could  not  be  idle  and  yet  be 
happy.  Indeed  it  is  questionable  whether  in 
any  circumstances  a  being  naturally  active  could 
be  happy  in  a  state  of  physical  inertia.  Even 
mental  activity  could  not  satisfy  the  native  pro- 
pulsion of  a  material  organization  invested  with 
life.  If,  then,  this  native  tendency  to  action 
were  not  restrained  and  exhausted  bv  lawful 


114  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

labor,  it  would  be  all  embodied  in  the  produc- 
tion of  crime.  It  has  been  well  remarked  by  an 
eminent  writer  *  that  "  if  man  were  not  obliged 
to  toil  for  his  bodily  sustenance  and  comfort, 
his  native  restlessness  would  impel  him  to  deeds 
which  would  throw  society  into  hopeless  disorder, 
and  deluge  the  earth  with  blood/'  How  true  is 
the  language  of  the  poet : — 

"  That  like  an  emmet  thou  must  ever  toil, 
Is  a  sad  sentence  of  an  ancient  date — 
And,  certes,  there  is  for  it  reason  great ; 
For  though  it  sometimes  makes  thee  weep  and  wail 
And  curse  thy  stars,  and  early  rise  and  late, 
Without  'en  that  would  come  a  heavier  bale — 
Loose  life,  unruly  passions,  and  diseases  pale."f 

The  crowning  evil  in  connexion  with  human 
toil  is,  that  in  certain  states  of  society,  the 
amount  and  the  nature  of  the  labor  demanded 
are  such,  that  mental  and  physical  slavery  is  the 
result.  To  this  the  Divine  record  bears  testimony 
in  the  history  of  the  Hebrews  as  enslaved  in  Egypt. 
"The  children  of  Israel  sighed  by  reason  of  their 
bondage,  and  they  cried,  and  their  cry  came  up 
unto  God  by  reason  of  their  bondage."  Under 
this  type  of  slavery  the  body  is  so  exhausted  and 
impaired  by  manual  labor,  that  the  mind  is 
utterly  unfitted  for  intellectual  exercise.  In 
many  modern  cases  of  nominal  liberty  right  is 

*  Dr.  M'Cosh. 

f  Castle  of  Indolence. 


THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS.  115 

overlaid  by  might,  and  selfish  ambition  is  found 
wreathing  a  yoke  of  bondage,  almost  as  galling 
as  ancient  slavery. '  It  is  here  that  the  evils  of 
labor,  are  experienced  in  their  most  aggravated 
forms  ;  but  it  is  here  also,  that  mechanical  in- 
ventions come  to  the  aid  of  oppressed  humanity. 
As  the  God  of  Jacob  heard  the  cry,  of  the 
enslaved  Israelites,  and  with  a  mighty  hand 
accomplished  their  emancipation  ;  so  the  G-od 
of  providence  hears  the  cry,  and  recognizes 
the  suffering  of  the  oppressed,  and  by  the 
invention  of  this,  and  that  implement  of  in- 
dustry works  their  deliverance.  It  may  be  that 
the  first  efforts  of  machinery  will  increase  those 
sorrows,  as  the  demand  of  Moses  did  the  woes  of 
the  Hebrews  ;  but  when  the  transition  period 
from  manual  to  mechanical  labor  has  tran- 
spired it  will  uniformly  be  found,  that  all  parties 
have  been  benefitted  by  the  changes  introduced. 
The  tendency  of  mechanical  inventions  is  to 
give  mind  supremacy  over  matter,  and  to  es- 
tablish that  dominion  accorded  to  man,  in  his 
original  charter.  In  proportion  as  man  under- 
stands his  privileges,  and  exercises  his  capabili- 
ties, amidst  the  profusion  of  nature  ;  in  that 
proportion  will  he  find  its  adaptation  to  his  pe- 
culiar circumstances,  and  in  so  far  as  he  obeys 
the  original  mandate,  " Subdue  the  earth"  will 
he  find  its  treasures  laid  at  his  feet.  "  The  earth 


116  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

hath  God  given  to  the  children  of  men,"  conse- 
quently, it  is  their  province  to  discern,  and  dis- 
pose of  the  riches  therein  deposited,  so  as  to 
promote  human  comfort.  It  is  with  this  view 
that  art  is  made  auxiliary  to  human  power,  and 
has  enabled  man  to  carry  his  researches,  and 
appropriation  of  terrestial  things,  beyond  the 
primary  limits  of  manual  capability.  Nor  is 
this  all,  the  ultimate  tendency  of  inventions  is, 
to  emancipate  the  human  family  from  the 
heavier  portions  of  manual  labor,  and  to  give 
the  mind  more  extensive  power,  so  that  machi- 
nery may  take  the  place  of  human  hands,  and 
one  individual  be  able  to  accomplish  what  hun- 
dreds could  not  have  effected* 

THE   TENDENCY   OF   INVENTIONS   TO   MITIGATE 
HUMAN   TOIL. 

The  application  of  machinery  is  the  extension 
of  man's  mechanical  powers.  With  the  levers 
and  pulleys  of  his  own  mechanical  frame,  he 
can  raise  a  given  weight,  or  transport  a  burden 
through  a  given  space.  But  how  limited  the 
extent  of  his  unaided  efforts  ?  How  soon  must 
all  his  native  energies  be  exhausted  ?  But  seiz- 
ing nature's  elements,  and  applying  nature'* 
mechanical  laws,  he  extends  his  powers  to  inani- 
mate objects  ;  so  that  instead  of  his  mind  direct- 
ing the  machinery  of  his  own  hands,  or  his  own 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       117 

mechanical  system,  only  it  becomes  the  directing 
agency  of  a  vast  and  complicated  machinery ; 
effecting  results  beyond  the  capability  of  thou- 
sands of  his  species.  Without  artificial  machi- 
nery, the  efforts  of  the  human  mind  must  be 
limited  by  the  efforts  of  the  human  hands  ;  but 
with  the  full  development  of  mechanical  in- 
ventions, the  mind  will  be  enabled  to  establish  a 
most  comprehensive  supremacy  over  the  world 
of  matter.  How  feeble  the  power  of  the  human 
hand,  compared  with  the  stroke  of  the  steam- 
engine,  and  yet  these  hands  can  direct  all  its 
movements.  How  diminutive  is  the  helmsman 
when  contrasted  with  the  mighty  ship,  which 
he  directs  in  her  course  through  the  waste  of 
waters  ;  and  yet  it  is  but  the  extension  of  his 
moral  and  physical  power,  over  the  varied  parts 
and  movements  of  this  vast  machine.  How 
apparently  insignificant  are  the  operatives  in  a 
spinning  mill,  compared  with  the  magnitude  of 
the  machinery  by  which  they  are  surrounded  ; 
and  yet  all  these  wheels,  and  shafts,  and  spindles, 
are  but  an  extension  of  their  own  mechanical 
system,  presided  over,  and  directed  by  their  men- 
tal being.  The  desired  results  are  increased  ten 
thousand-fold,  and  yet,  the  amount  of  manual, 
and  mental  exhaustion  is  proportionally  dimin- 
ished. It  is  thus,  that  by  mechanical  inventions, 
man  establishes  his  supremacy  over  the  elements 


118  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

of  nature,  in  order  to  employ  them  in  his  service, 
and  render  them  subservient  to  his  interests. 

How  different  is  the  amount  of  physical  force 
required  in  a  modern  stone  quarry — with  powder 
for  rending  the  hardest  rocks,  with  levers  and 
cranes  for  lifting  the  huge  masses — with  railway 
trucks  to  remove  them  to  a  distance,  and 
machinery  to  prepare,  and  place  them  on  the 
building — coinpared  with  the  operations  of  an- 
cient times,  when  hundreds  of  slaves  were  yoked 
to  a  block  of  stone,  to  remove  it  from  the  quarry 
to  the  destined  building  !  Similar  changes  have 
occurred  in  every  other  department  of  operative 
production.  The  plough  rapidly  effects  what  a 
whole  community  could  not  accomplish  with  the 
spade.  The  sickle,  the  scythe,  and  the  modern 
reaper  cut  down  the  yellow  grain  with  a  velo- 
city which  the  hands  of  the  whole  population — 
unfurnished  with  an  implement — could  never 
have  attained.  Thus  labor  is  set  free  from  the 
agricultural  world,  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
commercial,  without  a  diminution  of  the  food 
raised,  or  the  capability  of  preserving  it.  Nay, 
so  divinely  regulated  have  been  the  agricultural 
and  manufacturing  implements,  that  modern 
draining,  subsoil  ploughing,  reaping,  thrashing, 
grinding  and  baking  machinery,  stands  contem- 
porary with  the  steamship,  the  spinning  mill,  the 
power  loom,  and  the  railway.  And  thus,  while 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  119 

there  is  division  of  labor  upon  an  extensive  scale, 
each  department  is  found  keeping  pace  with 
every  other.  Consequently,  the  increase  of  the 
human  family,  or  their  advancement  in  one  or 
other  department  of  civilized  comfort  never  out- 
strips the  amount  of  requisite  provision  yielded 
by  the  soil.  Nor  even  where  that  provision  is 
increased  a  thousand-fold,  does  the  burden  of 
toil  press  heavier  upon  the  peasant,  or  the  agri- 
culturalist. Progressive  discovery  and  invention 
are  constantly  balancing  between  the  amount  of 
produce  required,  and  the  amount  of  toil ;  so 
that  the  latter  is  gradually  diminishing  in  each 
department,  while  the  former  is  steadily  increas- 
ing throughout  the  whole. 

Thus,  it  is  manifest,  that  in  every  department 
of  labor,  machinery  is  taking  the  place  and 
performing  the  office  of  human  hands.  The 
products  of  the  mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal 
kingdoms  are  assuming  the  place,  in  the  region 
of  toil,  and  accomplishing  the  purpose  of  men 
under  a  former  system.  In  the  spinning  mill, 
power  loom,  and  the  railway,  the  steam  en- 
gine is  the  substitute  for  animal  strength.  A 
pint  of  water  and  a  pound  of  coal  originate  a 
power  and  sustain  a  motion  which  would  soon 
wear  out  the  human  system  of  the  strongest 
operative.  The  metal  fingers,  moved  with  ex- 
haustless  energy  and  devouring  speed,  set  at 


120  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

defiance  all  attempts  of  manual  competition.  A 
steam  engine  of  one  hundred  horse  power  has 
been  computed  at  the  strength  of  eight  hundred 
and  eighty  men.*  This  is  sufficient  to  produce 
and  sustain  the  motion  of  fifty  thousand  spindles, 
each  producing  a  separate  thread  of  a  mile  and 
a  quarter  in  length,  in  twelve  hours.  Thus 
every  twelve  hours  of  fifty  thousand  spindles  will 
produce  sixty  two  thousand  five  hundred  miles 
of  thread,  a  length  sufficient  to  go  two  and  a 
half  times  round  the  globe.  In  ordinary  prac- 
tice these  fifty  thousand  spindles  require  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  persons  to  superintend  their 
operations  ;  but,  by  the  aid  of  this  machinery, 
propelled  by  the  power  of  steam,  they  can  con- 
vert as  much  raw  cotton  into  yarn  as  would 
have  required  two  hundred  thousand  persons  by 
the  former  method  of  spinning.  Thus,  by  the 
aid  of  inventions,  which  is  simply  the  employ- 
ment of  so  much  water,  and  coal,  and  iron,  the 
labor  of  one  individual  is  made  to  equal  the 
combined  efforts  of  two  hundred  and  twenty 
six.  This  holds  true  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
of  every  other  department  of  machinery  where 
steam  is  employed  ;  the  rapidity  of  production 
is  accompanied  by  the  decrease  of  human  toil. 
How  remarkably  is  this  illustrated  by  the  rail- 
way, which  is,  indeed,  the  great  conservator  of 

*  Instincts  of  Industry. 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       121 

human  strength !  Were  the  same  distances 
traversed  by  walking,  or  even  by  the  best  modes 
of  locomotion  previously  introduced,  how  soon 
would  the  human  system  wear  down  under  the 
operation  ?  But  the  entire  sum  of  physical 
strength  would  be  utterly  inadequate  to  meet 
modern  demands  ;  hence  all  that  has  been  ob- 
tained beyond  the  powers  of  walking,  must  be 
put  to  the  account  of  human  inventions.  Nor 
is  the  amount  alone  affected  ;  this  entire  increase 
of  locomotive  power  has  been  obtained  while 
there  has  been  a  corresponding  decrease  of 
bodily  fatigue. 

The  reduction  of  human  labor  might  be  il- 
lustrated by  the  history  of  each  individual 
machine,  as  well  as  by  the  productive  power  of 
all  combined.  The  human  mind  is  gradually 
planning  and  constructing  some  implement  of 
industry,  which  may  release  the  human  hands. 
Thus  the  mind  is  gaining  supremacy  over  matter 
— the  mental  is  directing  and  controlling  the 
material.  The  higher  and  nobler  faculties  of 
man  are  expanding,  while  his  physical  powers 
are  relieved  and  his  toil  diminished.  But  this 
process  will  not  be  completed  by  merely  trans- 
ferring the  burden  of  toil  from  the  physical  to 
the  mental.  The  ultimate  tendency  is  to  re- 
lease the  whole  man  from  toil  as  a  burden,  and 
to  make  necessary  labor  a  pleasant  exercise.  In 


122       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

the  rapid  progress  of  the  present  age  may  be 
seen  signs  of  approaching  deliverance  from  the 
evils  incident  to  manual  labor.  Already  are  the 
heavier  kinds  of  work  transferred  to  untiring 
machinery,  so  that  by  mere  direction,  one  man 
can  accomplish  what  previously  hundreds  could 
not  have  affected. 

OBJECTION. 

"  Why  has  not  the  introduction  of  modern  in- 
ventions already  produced  the  results  specified  ?" 
"  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  population  of  our  cities 
is  as  busily  occupied  as  before  the  introduc- 
tion of  spinning  mills  or  railways  ?"  It  is 
freely  admitted  that  the  fruits  of  modern  inven- 
tions are  but  partially  developed,  and  the  com- 
munity, as  a  whole,  is  more  busily  occupied  than 
even  under  the  former  system.  But  there  are 
both  moral  and  social  reasons  sufficient  to  ac- 
count for  the  fact.  The  moral  state  of  the 
masses  is  not  yet  such  as  to  admit  of  that  full 
measure  of  relaxation  which  machinery  is  calcu- 
lated to  afford,  while  there  are  social  revolutions 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  seeming  paradox, 
that,  while  machinery  is  doing  the  work  of  man, 
humanity  itself  should  be  more  occupied.  It 
must  be  observed  that  in  connexion  with  this 
rapidly  increasing  power  of  production  at  home, 
new  nations  have  been  springing  up  abroad,  at 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  123 

once  absorbing  the  operative  classes,  and  increas- 
ing the  demand,  in  accordance  with  the  powers 
of  production  ;  while  national  wealth  and  com- 
fort have  been  increased  to  all.  Besides,  the 
covetous  spirit  of  man  may  and  will  pervert  the 
choicest  blessings.  The  race  for  riches  has  kept 
pace  with  the  newly  developed  means  of  acqui- 
sition, and  consequently,  that  release  from  grind- 
ing toil,  which  ought  legitimately  to  be  accorded 
to  the  operative,  has  been  either  wasted  in  fruit- 
less competition  or  turned  into  the  channels  of 
personal  aggrandisement.  But  though,  in  the 
present  progressive  state  of  transition,  in  the 
social  history  of  the  world,  and  in  the  earlier 
efforts  of  mechanical  invention,  the  demand 
may  seem  to  keep  a-head  of  the  increasing  speed 
of  production  ;  and  though  this  at  first  sight 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  no  release  from  toil 
can  be  expected  by  the  introduction  of  mechani- 
cal inventions,  yet,  viewing  the  subject  as  a 
whole,  it  is  evident  that  when  machinery  has 
attained  its  climax,  and  when  the  various  de- 
partments have  been  balanced  and  adjusted,  and 
when  the  entire  system  of  manufacture  and  com- 
merce shall  be  directed  and  regulated  by  sound 
moral  principles,  the  necessary  tendency  of  ma- 
chinery must  be  to  emancipate  the  operative 
classes,  and  thus  equalize  the  privileges  of 
those  who  employ  and  those  who  labor.  Even 


124  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

under  all  the  disadvantages  resulting  from  a 
transition  state,  and  in  spite  of  the  eovetousness 
of  the  age,  the  hours  of  toil  are  already  abridged, 
and  the  physical  system  so  far  relieved  as  to  en- 
courage mental  culture.  The  ultimate  result  of 
this  must  be  the  revival  of  social  and  domestic 
affections,  which  were  ready  to  expire  under  the 
exhaustion  of  slavery.  Enlightened  legislation 
has  judiciously  fixed  the  age  as  well  as  the  time, 
beneath,  and  beyond  which,  grasping  employers 
shall  not  be  permitted  to  protract  the  hours  of 
toil  in  public  factories.  This  legal  movement 
has  been  succeeded  by  another — still  more 
praiseworthy,  as  it  presents  a  nobler  aspect 
of  mutual  interest  between  employers  and  em- 
ployed— in  which  merchants  and  shopmen  have 
voluntarily  agreed  to  abridge  the  hours  of  daily 
attendance,  besides,  in  many  notable  cases,  add- 
ing the  Saturday  half-holiday  as  preparatory  to 
the  Sabbath.  Let  the  covetous  learn  that  "a 
man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  things  that  he 
possesseth  ; "  and  let  the  avaricious  be  taught  the 
benevolence  of  the  Gospel:  then  shall  the  Saviour's 
definition  of  a.  day  be  taken  as  a  standard,  and 
all  classes  shall  enjoy  the  domestic  bliss  of  the 
evening.  "  Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the 
day  ?"  was  the  interrogation  of  Him  who  set  the 
sun  in  the  firmament.  Will  any  man  be  pre- 
pared to  say,  that  this  is  not  a  sufficient  time  to 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS,       125 

devote  to  the  pursuits  and  objects  of  the  present 
world  ?  The  aid  of  machinery  renders  the 
abridgment  of  the  period  of  labor  practicable. 
It  is  avarice  alone  that  gives  rise  to  a  spurious 
competition,  and  encroaches  upon  the  privileges 
of  domestic  life.  It  is  evident  that  even  now 
the  long-hour  system,  opposed  at  once  to  the 
claims  of  nature  and  grace,  is  doomed.  That 
God  who  made  the  sun  to  rule  the  day,  also 
framed  the  human  constitution  in  accordance 
with  this  physical  arrangement,  and  that  which 
the  introduction  of  sin  has  deranged  in  the  past 
history  of  man,  the  grace  of  the  Gospel  will  rec- 
tify in  the  coming  Millennium.  Then,  indeed, 
shall  the  poet's  vision  be  realised — 

"  The  hand  that  held  a  whip  was  lifted  up 
To  bless ;  slave  was  a  word  in  ancient  books 
Met  only ;  every  man  was  free  ;  and  all 
Feared  God,  and  served  him  day  and  night  in  love."  * 

THE    TENDENCY    OF    INVENTIONS    TO    ALLEVIATE 
HUMAN    MISERY. 

It  has  been  previously  established  that  the 
whole  tendency  of  machinery,  legitimately  ap- 
plied, is  to  reduce  the  quantity,  and  improve 
the  character  of  manual  labor.  The  trans- 
ference of  the  heavier  portions  of  human  toil  to 
mechanical  inventions,  is  the  direct  method  of 
cutting  off  a  vast  amount  of  physical  suffering. 
Indeed,  under  proper  regulation,  machinery 
*  Pollok. 


126       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

renders  it  possible  to  remove  all  that  constitutes 
actual  suffering  in  legitimate  labor.  But  it  is 
equally  evident  that  the  mitigation  of  mental 
and  physical  exhaustion  must  be  accompanied 
by  a  reduction  of  disease.  The  substitution  of 
activity  in  superintending  machinery,  for  the 
patient  endurance  of  grinding  toil,  must  neces- 
sarily tend  to  the  health  of  the  mental  and  phy- 
sical system. 

Mechanical  inventions  also  tend  to  promote 
health,  and  to  alleviate  human  misery,  by  re- 
moving those  physical  causes  which  produce 
disease,  especially  in  towns  and  cities.  The 
improvements  of  modern  times  in  architecture, 
in  the  formation  of  streets,  the  introduction  of 
water,  the  subterranean  sewerage,  the  burning 
of  smoke,  the  disinfection  of  putrid  substances, 
the  lighting,  ventilation,  and  construction  of 
public  buildings  and  private  habitations,  must 
all  tend  to  improve  health,  prevent  disease,  and 
mitigate  suffering.  The  progress  of  medical 
science,  aided  by  chemical  inventions,  gives  ever 
increasing  access  to  the  pharmacopoeia  of  Nature; 
while,  already,  the  improvement  of  surgical  in- 
struments, in  conjunction  with  the  use  of  chlo- 
roform, and  other  narcotic  agents,  has  mitigated 
the  excruciating  pain  formerly  endured  under 
surgical  operations.  Besides,  the  discovery  of 
this  agent  has  marked  a  new  epoch  in  the  heal- 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  127 

ing  art,  by  giving  a  wider  range  to  human  in- 
genuity, by  sparing  the  feelings  of  the  operator, 
as  well  as  the  pangs  of  the  subject.  Is  it  not  a 
remarkable  fact  that  this  secret  should  be  dis- 
closed in  Britain  at  the  very  time  when  it  may 
be  most  extensively  employed  in  dressing  the 
wounds,  and  amputating  the  shattered  limbs  of 
her  soldiers,  upon  a  distant  field  of  battle  ?  Are 
not  these  signs  of  coming  deliverance  from  a 
vast  amount  of  physical  evil  ?  What  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  future  may  be,  none  can  predict, 
but  enough  has  already  been  realized  to  warrant 
the  hope  that  agents  such  as  these  may  be  ren- 
dered available  in  mitigating  all  those  forms  of 
suffering  which  are  incident  to  our  nature  in  a 
fallen  state.  The  mind  must  be  sceptical  in- 
deed, that  recognizes  not  the  hand  of  God  in  the 
discoveries  and  improvements  of  medical  science, 
as  really  as  that  hand  is  seen  in  the  forms  of 
disease.  Do  we  not  even  now  behold  in  the 
triumphs  of  the  present  age  the  harbingers  of 
that  blessed  future,  which  the  poet  anticipated, 
under  the  sanction  of  inspiration,  and  of  which 
he  says — 

"  Disease  was  none  ;  the  voice  of  war  forgot ; 
The  sword,  a  share ;  a  pruning-hook,  the  spear. 
Men  grew  and  multiplied  upon  the  earth, 
And  filled  the  city  and  the  waste ;  and  Death 
Stood  waiting  for  the  lapse  of  tardy  age 
That  mocked  him  long." — POLLOK. 


128       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

THE  TENDENCY  OF  INVENTIONS  TO  INCREASE 
THE  SOURCES  OF  HUMAN  COMFORT. 

The  reference  here  is  not  simply  to  the  mitiga- 
tion of  toil,  or  the  alleviation  of  suffering — which 
must  of  themselves  detract  from  human  comfort 
— but  to  the  general  diffusion  of  those  elements 
which,  in  a  personal,  relative,  and  social  aspect, 
lead  to  its  most  extensive  enjoyment.  In  Eden, 
our  first  parents  had  all  that  the  pure  heart 
could  desire,  or  that  the  material  system  could 
need  in  a  state  of  innocence  ;  but,  in  consequence 
of  the  fall  their  descendants  are  subjected  to 
innumerable  wants.  The  earth,  as  a  vast  depo- 
sitory, contains  all  that  they  require  to  supply 
their  physical  necessities,  but  these  elements  of 
comfort  are  scattered  wide  as  the  world  itself, 
throughout  the  mineral,  animal,  and  vegetable 
kingdoms.  Many  even  of  the  necessaries  of  life 
are  not  only  beyond  the  reach  of  man  in  a  given 
locality,  but  also  beyond  the  possibility  of  dis- 
covery, or  appropriation,  without  the  help  of 
mechanical  inventions.  Art  is  well  defined  to 
be  Ce  the  proper  disposal  of  the  things  of  nature 
by  human  thought  and  experience,  so  as  to 
answer  the  several  purposes  of  mankind."*  Is 
it  not  also  the  intermediate,  secondary  means  by 
which  the  God  of  Providence,  through  human 

c  Lord  Bacon. 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  129 

industry,  renders  available  the  various  elements 
of  comfort,  which  have  been  profusely  deposited 
in  the  different  departments  of  that  world,  which, 
as  a  whole,  is  constituted  the  habitation  of  the 
human  family.  Thus  the  development  of  the 
arts  is  destined  to  occupy  a  prominent  place  in 
the  manifestations  of  Divine  beneficence.  A  por- 
tion of  that  wisdom  which  foresaw  and  provided 
for  man's  necessities  in  nature,  is  imparted  to  his 
mental  being,  so  that  from  age  to  age  he  may 
appropriate  and  enjoy  what  his  Creator  has  be- 
stowed. It  is  thus  that  there  is  a  common  pro- 
vision for  a  common  race,  stored  up  in  nature, 
yet  so  distributed  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  that 
man's  faculties  and  powers  may  be  exercised  in 
its  appropriation,  and  human  industry  rewarded 
by  its  progressive  development.  Thus,  while 
mechanical  inventions  extract  and  prepare  the 
various  substances  of  every  region  for  the  use  of 
man,  railways  and  steam-ships,  accompanied  by 
all  the  inferior  and  local  modes  of  transit,  lay 
them  upon  his  table,  or  deposit  them  in  his 
wardrobe.  Indeed,  the  very  house  in  which  he 
dwells,  the  furniture  of  his  apartments,  the  fire 
that  warms,  and  the  light  that  illuminates,  are 
so  many  monuments  of  mechanical  invention. 
The  luxuries,  and  substantial  comforts  of  his 
table,  are  each  and  all  under  tribute  to  the 
sciences  and  arts.  By  the  help  of  marine  and 
6* 


130       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

terrestrial  machinery,  the  luxuries  of  one  region 
are  profusely  strewed  upon  another.  Though 
locally  far  removed  from  the  lands  of  the  tea- 
plant,  the  vine,  the  olive,  the  orange,  and  the 
palm,  their  produce  is  spread  upon  our  table  ; 
while,  in  reciprocal  commerce,  our  spinning- 
mills  and  power-looms  produce  for  the  million, 
clothing  adapted  to  the  climate  and  habits  of 
those  by  whom  they  are  cultivated.  While  the 
Eastern  children  are  gathering  the  oranges,  the 
grapes,  or  the  tea,  that  may  soothe  us  in  afflic- 
tion, or  stimulate  our  flagging  spirits  under  daily 
toil,  our  children  in  the  factory  are  joining  the 
ends,  and  guiding  the  threads  and  forming  the 
fabrics  which  will  comfort  and  adorn  the  aged  and 
the  young  of  these  distant  regions.  It  has  been 
computed  by  an  ingenious  calculator,  that,  in 
Great  Britain  alone,  there  is  machinery  doing 
the  work  of  five  hundred  millions  of  men  ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  inventions  of  varied  kinds  in  the 
United  Kingdom  will,  in  a  week,  weave  as  much 
cloth,  and  prepare  as  much  food,  and  supply  the 
human  family  with  as  many  comforts  as  could 
be  made  by  hand,  if  all  the  adult  population  of 
the  globe  were  exerting  and  exhausting  their 
personal  powers  of  production. 

Not  less  astonishing  are  the  mechanical  in- 
ventions for  dyeing  and  printing  these  artificial 
fabrics,  by  which  the  glowing  tints  of  nature, 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  131 

and  the  inimitable  forms  of  beauty,  are  trans- 
ferred in  infinite  variety,  and  with  incalculable 
speed  to  the  heaviest  vesture,  or  to  the  lightest 
of  those  gossamer  fabrics  which  are  destined  to 
adorn  the  person  and  decorate  the  dwelling. 
Nor  is  it  substantial  comfort  alone  that  genius 
contemplates  in  the  construction  of  mechanical 
inventions.  Whatever  tends  to  elevate  the  taste 
and  please  the  fancy — whatever  imparts  an  in- 
fluence to  industry  or  extends  civilization,  finds 
here  an  auxiliary.  The  achievements  of  the 
past  and  the  present,  are  extended  to  the  future 
by  the  aid  of  modern  inventions. 


"The  mere  mechanic  skill, 
That  stamps,  renews,  and  multiplies  at  will ; 
And  cheaply  circulates,  through  distant  climes, 
The  fairest  relics  of  the  purest  times." — ROGERS. 


How  great  the  contrast  between  the  home  of  the 
British  manufacturer,  artizan,  or  peasant,  when 
compared  with  the  wigwam  of  an  Indian  chief, 
or  the  hut  of  an  ancient  Druid.  Or  if  a  com- 
plete contrast  of  the  person  is  desired,  compare 
the  native  barbarians  of  Britain,  in  their  scanty 
untanned  habiliments  of  skin,  with  our  portly 
merchant  in  his  broadcloth,  or  his  comely 
partner  in  her  silks,  satins,  lace,  embroid- 
ery, and  jewels,  and  it  will  be  at  once  ap- 
parent what  machinery  has  accomplished  in 


132  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

the  progress  of  taste  and  the  advancement  of 
civilization.  But  a  richer  harvest  is  yet  to  be 
reaped  out  of  this  world's  vast  resources,  when 
the  earth,  subdued,  shall  open  her  hidden  stores, 
and  the  casket  of  Nature  exhibit  its  concealed 
treasures  in  obedience  to  the  long  lost  key  of 
human  knowledge,  as  embodied  and  applied  to  the 
ancient  wards  in  the  form  of  mechanical  inven- 
tions. The  wants  of  the  past  have  all  sprung 
out  of  man's  ignorance  in  the  use  of  temporal 
things,  and  not  from  any  parsimony  in  the 
Divine  Benefactor.  To  this  there  shall  be  abun- 
dant evidence  during  the  Millennium.  Of  that 
blessed  era  it  will  justly  be  recorded — 

"  Men  grew  and  multiplied, 

But  lacked  not  bread ;  for  God  His  promise  brought 
To  mind,  and  blessed  the  land  with  plenteous  rain, 
And  made  it  blest  for  dews,  and  precious  things, 
Of  heaven,  and  blessings  of  the  deep  beneath, 
And  blessings  of  the  sun  and  moon,  and  fruits 
Of  day  and  night,  and  blessings  of  the  vale, 
And  precious  things  of  the  eternal  hills, 
And  all  the  fulness  of  perpetual  spring." — POLLOK. 

THE   TENDENCY   OF   INVENTIONS   TO   PROLONG 
RATIONAL    LIFE. 

The  reduction  of  exhausting  toil,  the  mitiga- 
tion of  suffering,  and  the  increase  of  the  means 
of  physical  comfort,  each  and  all,  tend  to  the 
increase  of  the  species,  and  prolongation  of 
human  life.  But  it  is  evident  that,  to  prolong 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  183 

the  natural  life  of  the  species,  must  necessarily 
lengthen  out  that  rational  life  which  is  on  earth 
peculiarly  the  glory  of  man.  The  question  is  not 
simply,  how  long  an  individual  has  existed,  but 
what  has  been  the  extent  of  his  mental  and 
moral  development,  and  what  the  amount  of  ra- 
tional life  which  has  been  devoted  to  the  grand 
purposes  of  man's  original  destination  ?  Some 
there  are  who  live  as  much  intellectually  in  five 
years  as  others  do  in  fifty.  Some  who  accom- 
plish more  in  the  works  of  benevolence  in  a  few 
months  than  others  effect  in  the  longest  life- 
time. How  vast  must  be  the  influence  of  mechan- 
ical inventions  upon  the  exercise  of  all  the 
intellectual  powers  ?  Nor  is  that  influence  less 
in  giving  scope  and  stimulus  to  those  which 
are  moral.  The  whole  art  of  printing  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  nurture  of  intellectual  being. 
Though  the  press  cannot  create  a  thought,  yet 
it^is  capable  of  recording  and  transmitting  all 
that  is  worthy  of  being  retained  ;  and  conse- 
quently, while  the  physical  being  of  innumerable 
generations  has  vanished,  the  mental  and  moral 
being  is  revived  and  reproduced  from  age  to 
age  :  thus  "  feeding  with  the  food  of  thought " 
the  rational  life  of  immortal  beings.  Nor  is 
this  true  of  the  printing  press  only,  all  the  im- 
plements of  industry  are  auxiliary  to  this  con- 
summation. If  the  mind  is  the  measure  of  the 


134  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

man,  all  that  helps  the  man  must  directly  or  in- 
directly  tend  to  the  expansion  of  the  mind,  and 
what  is  this  but  the  extension  of  rational  ex- 
istence ? 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  rational 
existence  of  the  benefactors  of  the  race  was 
measured  by  the  amount  of  good  they  were  able 
to  accomplish.  In  this  respect,  the  public  life  of 
Immanuel,  stretching  over  only  three  and  a  half 
years,  was  so  filled  up  with  benevolent  acts,  that 
the  evangelist  John  declares  the  impossibility  of 
their  being  recorded.*  In  the  public  history  of 
the  apostle  Paul  there  is  exhibited  a  living,  spir- 
itual energy,  which  cannot  be  measured  by  years, 
but  by  acts  of  self-devotement.  And  yet  how 
much  of  that  precious  life  was  spent  in  tedious 
journeys  by  sea  and  land,  which  would  now  be 
accomplished  in  a  few  hours  by  the  help  of  rail- 
ways and  steamboats  ?  The  value  of  time,  and 
the  reduction  of  physical  exhaustion,  are  not  yet 
sufficiently  appreciated,  though  the  speed  of 
modern  locomotion  is  the  lengthening  of  life, 
measured  by  the  amount  of  good  that  a  man  may 
accomplish.  It  is  impossible  to  calculate  what 
the  burning  zeal  of  the  apostle  might  have 
effected  with  the  aid  of  modern  inventions. 
What  would  not  Luther,  or  Calvin,  or  Knox, 
have  given  for  a  single  year  of  the  railway  sys- 

'    *  John,  xxi.  25. 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       135 

tern  ?  The  actual  labors  of  patriots  and  refor- 
mers, of  philanthropists  and  Grospel  missionaries, 
would  have  been  doubled  by  the  present  modes 
of  conveyance.  The  time  formerly  spent  in  pro- 
tracted sea  journeys,  may  now  be  spent  by  the 
heralds  of  the  cross  in  actual  evangelistic  labor. 
The  running  to  and  fro  of  many  in  the  earth,  as 
foretold  by  Daniel,  must  necessarily  be  accom- 
panied by  the  increase  of  knowledge  ;  and  what 
is  the  increase  of  knowledge  but  the  expansion 
of  rational  life  ? 

But  the  influence  of  mechanical  inventions,  in 
prolonging  rational  life,  is  not  confined  to  those 
portions  of  machinery  which  merely  record  the 
triumphs  of  genius,  deposit  truths,  or  carry 
rapidly  over  space,  the  heralds  of  political  or 
spiritual  emancipation.  The  tendency  of  all  in- 
ventions is  to  abridge  the  hours  of  toil,  which 
must  necessarily  leave  a  larger  portion  of  human 
existence  to  be  devoted  to  the  culture  of  man's 
mental  and  moral  nature.  Hitherto  the  hours 
of  manual  labor  have  borne  a  large  proportion 
to  the  hours  of  mental  cultivation  or  spiritual 
reflection.  The  tendency  of  machinery,  regu- 
lated by  moral  principle,  is  to  reverse  this  ano- 
maly, the  fruit  of  moral  evil,  and  to  give  mental 
employment  the  complete  ascendency  over  that 
which  is  merely  manual.  As  the  calculation  of 
miles  in  journey  is  now  giving  way  before  the 


136       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

calculations  of  time,  so  the  occupations  of  phy- 
sical life  shall  be  supplanted  by  those  which  are 
mental ;  and  even  those  which  are  mental,  under 
the  sanctifying  influence  of  the  Gospel,  shall  be 
characterized  as  moral  and  spiritual.  The  ra- 
tional life  of  man,  elevated,  emancipated,  and 
purified,  shall  be  devoted  to  the  service  of  God, 
and  realize,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  Divine 
favor,  that  which  constitutes  the  real  existence 
of  all  immortal  beings. 

THE  TENDENCY  OF  INVENTIONS  TO  PROMOTE  UNI- 
VERSAL PEACE,  AND  RESTORE  THE  HUMAN  FAM- 
ILY TO  ONE  BLESSED  BROTHERHOOD. 

We  have  already  considered  the  influence  of 
the  printing  press  upon  the  diffusion  of  know- 
ledge, and  the  consequent  extension  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty.  The  whole  history  of  mecha- 
nical inventions  is  associated  with  the  progress 
of  commerce  and  international  communication. 
The  extension  of  commerce  has  gradually  under- 
mined the  strongholds  of  prejudice.  We .  admit 
that  the  primary  cause — the  alienation  of  man 
from  God,  which,  in  its  effects,  separated  roan 
from  man — must  be  removed,  before  the  restora- 
tion of  brotherhood  can  be  realized  ;  but  though 
the  result  is  moral,  the  providential  circum- 
stances, and  the  relations  of  men,  are  embraced 
among  the  means  which  shall  accomplish  this 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       137 

desirable  result.  It  is  true  that,  to  reconcile 
man  to  man,  he  must  first  be  reconciled  to  Gocl. 
This  is  the  ultimate  design  of  that  religion  which 
the  Bible  propounds — a  religion  which  stands 
distinct  from  all  human  theories  of  amelioration, 
and  which  must  never  be  confounded  with 
mechanics  or  philosophy.  But  this  religion,  in 
accomplishing  its  high  mission — the  restoration 
of  peace  on  earth — disdains  not  to  employ  ordi- 
nary means  in  effecting  its  triumphs.  True 
Christianity  smiles  upon  the  efforts  of  human  in- 
dustry, and  becomes  the  animating  spirit  of  gen- 
uine scientific  progress.  The  kingdoms  of  Provi- 
dence and  Grace  are  contemporary,  consequently 
the  subjects  of  both  shall  rejoice  together  in  the 
triumphs  of  their  King.  Peace  on  earth  shall 
be  the  evidence  and  type  of  peace  with  heaven, 
during  the  coming  Millennium.  The  citizens  of 
the  world  shall,  no  less  than  the  members  of  the 
Church,  recognise  Christ  as  Lord,  and  fellow- 
men  as  brethren.  Already  are  the  materials  of 
civilization  being  prepared  and  scattered  over 
the  world.  The  division  of  labor  is  being  grad- 
ually effected  by  emigration,  by  new  discov- 
eries of  the  precious  metals,  by  the  invention 
of  machinery,  by  the  transition  of  politics,  and 
by  the  opening  up  of  home  and  foreign  marts 
of  merchandise.  Are  not  all  these  indications 
of  a  better  day,  when  "  nation  shall  not  lift  up 


138       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

the  sword  against  nation,  nor  learn  the  art  of 
war  any  more."  It  has  been  well  remarked  by 
Dr.  Wayland,  that  "  God  intended  that  all  men 
should  live  together  in  friendship  and  harmony. 
By  multiplying  indefinitely  their  wants,  and 
creating  only  in  particular  localities  the  objects 
by  which  their  wants  can  be  supplied,  he  in- 
tended to  make  them  all  necessary  to  each  other, 
and  thus  to  render  it  no  less  the  interest  than 
the  duty  of  every  one  to  live  in  amity  with  all 
the  rest."  Thus,  when  men  come  to  read  the 
book  of  nature  in  the  light  of  revelation,  and 
when  they  come  to  see  with  David  that  unto 
God  belongs  the  earth,  with  all  its  fulness  ;  and 
with  the  good  Samaritan,  that  every  man  is  a 
brother,  then,  indeed,  shall  the  mechanical  in- 
ventions be  rendered  tributary  to  the  universal 
benefit  of  humanit}^  while  glory  to  God,  as  the 
giver,  shall  be  the  universal  ascription  of  praise 
and  gratitude. 

We  admit  that,  notwithstanding  the  hopes 
excited  by  the  London  Exhibition  of  1851,  of 
continued  peace,  and  enlarged  national  inter- 
course, the  dark  clouds  have  lowered,  and  another 
volume  of  human  history  must  be  written  in 
blood.  True  it  is  that  those  nations,  which  met 
in  the  Crystal  Palace  in  mechanical  rivalry, 
have  now  met  in  the  field  of  carnage,  to  decide 
with  the  weapons  of  death  the  fate  of  nations. 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  139 

This  fact  is  an  evidence,  that  the  Gospel  only, 
received  and  believed,  can  medicate  the  fester- 
ing diseases  of  depraved  humanity.  But  it  fur- 
nishes no  argument  against  the  truth  already 
announced,  regarding  the  tendency  of  machinery 
to  promote  the  brotherhood  of  nations.  While 
it  is  the  religion  of  the  Bible  alone  <that  can  heal 
the  wounds  of  humanity,,  that  religion  embraces 
all  social  duties,  and  defines  our  relations  to  God 
and  man.  Consequently,  by  the  aid  of  machin- 
ery, man  will  be  enabled  to  do  for  his  fellow 
what,  with  the  purest  motives  and  the  warmest 
heart,  he  could  never  accomplish  by  the  simple 
and  immediate  operation  of  his  hands  upon  the 
elements  of  nature.  There  is  implanted  in  our 
constitution  a  principle,  which  leads  man  to 
smile  upon  whatever  tends  to  the  general  benefit 
of  the  species  ;  but  it  is  also  accompanied  by  a 
principle  of  attraction,  which  draws  us  insensi- 
bly to  the  author  of  the  good  effected.  Apply 
both  in  the  exercise  of  a  free  agency,  and  under 
the  guidance  of  moral  principle,  and  man  will 
become  the  friend  of  man.  Each  will  be  the 
minister  of  good  to  others,  and  thus  shall  rise 
and  roll,  the  full  tide  of  Millennial  felicity.  The 
assurance  expressed  by  the  illustrious  President 
of  her  Majesty's  Commissioners  of  the  Industrial 
Exhibition,  though  future,  is  not  the  less  true 
as  regards  its  realization,  when  he  said,  that 


140       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

"  nobody  who  has  paid  any  attention  to  the  par- 
ticular features  of  our  present  era  will  doubt  for 
a  moment  that  we  are  living  at  a  period  of  most 
wonderful  transition,  which  tends  rapidly  to 
accomplish  that  great  end — to  which,  indeed, 
all  history  points — the  realization  of  the  unity 
of  mankind*" 

It  is  freely  adinitte.d  that  the  perversion  of 
mechanical,  as  of  any  other  gifts  of  the  great 
Benefactor,  may  tend  to  present  alienation  of 
man  from  his  fellow.  It  was  thus  in  the  early 
history  of  the  arts,  that  the  building  of  the  Tower 
of  Babel  provoked  the  wrath  of  God,  and  led  to 
the  confusion  of  the  builders,  and  the  scattering 
of  the  human  family.  But  there  was  indicated 
in  that  judgment  no  frown  upon  architecture, 
but  only  upon  rebellion ;  and,  consequently, 
though  this  ancient  monument  of  art  was  the 
occasion  of  local  separation,  because  of  the  con- 
fusion of  languages,  mechanical  inventions  form 
a  part  of  those  comprehensive  plans  by  which 
locally  separated,  and  long  alienated  tribes  of 
the  human  family  shall  become  acquainted  with 
each  other's  language,  and  habits,  and  interests. 
The  commerce  of  modern  times  has  done  much 
to  remove  national  prejudice,  but  machinery 
lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  that  commerce. 
The  mariner's  compass,  the  spinning-mill,  the 
power-loom,  the  steam-ship,  and  the  railway,  are 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  141 

the  implements  in  daily  use,  originating  and 
sustaining  commercial  intercouse.  But  besides 
those  implements  which  promote  physical  com- 
fort, the  printing-press,  pouring  forth  Bibles  by 
the  million,  is  the  grand  mechanical  mediator 
between  the  alienated  nations  of  the  earth.  That 
influence  which  has  already  been  so  powerfully 
felt  in  India,  and  in  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
before  which  local  prejudice  is  rapidly  vanishing, 
shall  yet  be  -experienced  throughout  the  world. 
The  intercourse  of  nations  is  comparatively  in 
its  first  development.  But  when  the  steam-ship 
is  daily  bearing  its  living  freight  from  shore  to 
shore  ;  when  the  railway  is  uniting  the  most 
remote  places  of  the  largest  continents,  and  when 
the  telegraph  is  transmitting,  with  lightning 
speed,  the  messages  of  business  or  of  friendship 
from  distant  climes,  how  can  the  members  of 
the  human  family  remain  in  bitter  hostility,  or 
keep  up  that  feeling  of  selfish  isolation  which 
under  a  former  state  of  development,  character- 
ized the  human  race  ?  The  tendency  of  mechani- 
cal inventions  to  unite  the  separated  sons  of 
Adam,  has  already  been  clearly  evinced  ;  but 
the  achievements  of  the  past  and  the  present  are 
but  faint  types  of  the  future,  when  that  which 
has  been  done  locally  shall  be  accomplished  for 
the  world.  There  is  a  good  time  coming,  when 
the  poet's  description  shall  be  a  blessed  reality : 


142  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

"  None  were  ignorant,  selfish  none  ; 
Love  took  the  place  of  law ;  where'er  you  met 
A  man,  you  met  a  friend,  sincere  and  true. 
Kind  looks  foretold  as  kind  a  heart  within ; 
"Words,  as  they  sounded,  meant ;  and  promises 
"Were  made  to  be  performed.     Thrice  happy  days ! 
Philosophy  was  sanctified,  and  saw 
Perfection,  which  was  thought  a  fable  long. 

The  desert  blossomed,  and  the  barren  sung. 
Justice  and  Mercy,  Holiness  and  Love, 
Among  the  people  walked,  Messiah  reigned, 
And  earth  kept  jubilee  a  thousand  years."  * 

THE  TENDENCY  OF  MECHANICAL  INVENTIONS  TO 
PRODUCE  THOSE  PHYSICAL  CHANGES  UPON 
EARTH  WHICH  REVELATION  GIVES  REASON  TO 
HOPE  SHALL  YET  BE  ACCOMPLISHED. 

In  considering  the  tendency  of  inventions,  it 
has  been  assumed  that  God  designs  to  promote 
the  physical,  as  well  as  the  moral  interests  of 
humanity.  Were  this  questioned,  the  benevo- 
lence of  God  might  be  demonstrated  from  the 
whole  field  of  nature,  as  adapted  to  the  wants 
and .  circumstances  of  the  creature  ;  while  the 
Bible  is  at  once  the  monument  and  depository 
of  evidence,  .which  it  would  require  volumes  to 
elucidate.  But  assuming  what  every  principle 
of  reason  must  confirm,  it  is  evident  that  the 
tendencies  of  mechanical  inventions  already  ad- 
duced, are  sufficient  to  show  that  they  are  of 
God.  Were  it  necessary  to  pursue  the  argu- 
*  Pollok. 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       143 

ment  further,  it  might  be  conclusively  shown 
that  these  and  all  other  mechanical  tendencies 
are  destined  to  effect  those  physical  changes 
upon  the  world,  which  the  goodness  of  God,  and 
the  necessities  of  man,  seem  to  indicate,  as  yet 
to  be  realized,  in  the  onward  march  of  discovery 
and  invention.  The  Bible  tells  us  what  the 
world  was  as  God  made  it  ;  and  what  it  became 
as  blighted  by  the  curse  of  sin,  and  overwhelmed 
by  the  sweeping  deluge.  What  was  originally 
"very  good,"  became  armed  against  man,  the 
transgressor,  with  innumerable  evils.  That  world 
which  was  bestowed  in  covenant  grant,  became 
as  forfeited,  a  hostile  region,  only  to  be  reclaimed 
by  the  skill  and  industry  of  the  fallen  family. 
Since  the  day  that  Adam  was  thrust  out  from 
the  Garden,  the  work  of  subjugation  has  been 
progressing.  Already  has  this  sin-smitten  earth 
been  divested  of  half  its  physical  evils  ;  while  Ke- 
velation  exhibits  a  still  brighter  period  of  pro- 
gressive development  during  the  Millennium. 
Then,  there  is  good  reason  to  believe,  that  liter- 
ally as  well  as  spiritually,  "  the  wilderness  and 
the  solitary  places  shall  be  glad,  and  the  desert 
shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose/' 

If  the  God  of  infinite  goodness  would  not  permit 
the  universal  reign  of  moral  evil  in  this  revolted 
region,  but  made  the  fall  of  man  the  occasion 
for  the  interposition  of  redeeming  love,  is  there 


144  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

any  ground  to  believe  that  physical  evil  shall  be 
permitted  to  hold  universal  dominion  in  that 
world  which  has  been  selected  as  the  field  of  con- 
flict, between  the  Prince  of  Peace  and  the 
powers  of  darkness,  and  which  has  been  signal- 
ized by  the  triumphs  of  the  former  over  the 
latter  ?  The  moral  victory  has  been  won,  and 
soon  the  dragon  shall  be  bound  a  thousand 
years.  The  physical  conflict  with  nature  is  pro- 
gressing. To  man  it  has  been  entrusted  under 
the  original  mandate,  'subdue  the  earth,'  and 
through  man  as  the  mental  instrument  in  the 
Divine  hand  shall  the  victory  over  nature  also  be 
obtained.  The  miseries  of  groaning  creation 
shall  in  due  time  be  alleviated,  and  the  creature 
that  was  made  subject  to  vanity,  shall  be  re- 
stored to  its  appropriate  place,  and  made  to 
subserve  its  original  purpose.  If  the  moral 
effects  of  sin  upon  the  soul  of  man  are  removed 
through  the  grace  and  Spirit  of  God  in  the  work 
of  redemption,  and  if  the  Divine  image  is  restored 
to  that  soul,  which  has  become  a  moral  ruin,  is  it 
too  much  to  expect,  that  there  shall  be  a  corres- 
ponding restoration  of  the  physical  world,  to  at 
least  a  measure  of  that  beauty,  and  glory,  and 
fertility,  and  salubrity,  by  which  it  was  charac- 
terized as  a  work  of  Grod  ?  May  we  not  even 
literally  anticipate  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  ? 
"Instead  of  the  thorn  shall  come  up  the  fir- 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  145 

tree,  and  instead  of  the  briar,  shall  come  up  the 
myrtle-tree  ;  and  it  shall  be  to  the  Lord  for  a 
name,  for  an  everlasting  sign  that  shall  not  be 
cut  off." 

We  freely  admit  that  on  this  point  the  Bible 
is  neither  so  full  nor  explicit,  as  it  is  upon  all 
that  pertains  to  the  work  of  redemption  ;  be- 
cause the  grand  design  of  Kevelation  is,  to  lift 
man's  affections  above  the  world  that  is,  and  to 
direct  his  hopes  to  that  world  which  is  to  come. 
But  there  are  general  principles  propounded, 
and  incidental  hints  given,  which  considered  in 
the  exercise  of  faith,  will  lead  to  the  assurance 
of  a  glorious  physical,  as  well  as  moral  re- 
demption. In  the  creation  and  disposition  of 
earth's  elements — in  the  mental  and  material 
constitution  of  man,  and  in  the  dispensation  of 
providence,  there  is  conclusive  evidence,  as  re- 
gards the  Divine  purposes,  in  relation  to 
the  future  condition  of  the  physical  world. 
Much  has  already  been  done  to  change  the 
aspects  of  the  globe,  and  to  improve  the  tem- 
poral condition  of  man.  The  achievements  of 
the  past  are  sufficient  to  warrant  the  most  en- 
larged expectations  regarding  the  future.  As- 
cending the  mount  of  observation  with  the  poet 
Young,  we  may  hear  him  addressing  us  as  he  did 
Lorenzo — 


146  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

"  Come,  my  ambitious !  let  us  mount  together, 
And  from  the  clouds,  where  pride  delights  to  dwell, 
Look  down  on  earth.     What  seest  thou?  wondrous  things! 
Terrestrial  wonders  that  eclipse  the  skies. 
What  lengths  of  labor'd  lands !  what  loaded  seas ! 
Loaded  by  man  for  pleasure,  wealth,  or  war  1 
Seas,  winds,  and  planets,  into  service  brought, 
His  art  acknowledged,  and  promote  his  ends. 
Nor  can  the  eternal  rocks  his  will  withstand : 
What  level'd  mountains!  and  what  lifted  vales ! 
O'er  vales  and  mountains  sumptuous  cities  swell, 
And  gild  our  landscape  with  their  glittering  spires. 
Some  'mid  the  wandering  waves  majestic  rise, 
And  Neptune  holds  a  mirror  to  their  charms. 
Far  greater  still !  (what  cannot  mortal  might!) 
See,  wide  dominions  ravish'd  from  the  deep ! 
The  narrow'd  deep  with  indignation  foams, 
Or  southward  turn  to  delicate  and  grand. 
The  finer  arts  there  ripen  in  the  sun. 
How  the  tall  temples,  as  to  meet  their  gods, 
Ascend  the  skies !  the  proud  triumphal  arch 
Shows  us  half  heaven  beneath  its  ample  bend. 
High  through  mid  air,  here  streams  are  taught  to  flow ; 
Whole  rivers  there,  laid  by  in  basins,  sleep, 
Here  plains  turns  oceans ;  there  vast  oceans  join, 
Through  kingdoms  channel'd  deep  from  shore  to  shore, 
And  changed  creation  takes  its  face  from  man. 
Earth  disembowel'd !  measured  are  the  skies! 
Stars  are  detected  in  their  deep  recess ! 
Creation  widens !  vanquished  nature  yields ! 
Her  secrets  are  extorted !  art  prevails ! 
What   monument  of  genius;  spirit,  power! 


Whose  footsteps  these?    Immortals  have  been  here ; 
Could  less  than  souls  immortal  this  have  done  ?" 


What  would  the  poet  have  said,  had  he  seen  the 
triumphs  of  modern  engineering  ?  How  much 
more  expansive  would  have  been  his  vision,  had 


THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS.  147 

he  gazed  upon  the  manufactories,  and  ship- 
yards, and  marts  of  merchandise  in  our  own 
times  ?  While  agriculture  has  transformed  the 
aspects  of  the  landscape,  nautical  skill,  and 
steam-power,  have  changed  the  appearance,  even 
of  the  deep.  However  lofty  his  strains  as 
elicited  by  what  art  and  science  had  then  ac- 
complished, much  more  sublime  would  now  be 
their  theme,  when  embracing  the  marvels  of 
science  recently  disclosed.  The  steam-ship,  and 
the  spinning-mill,  and  the  railway,  and  the 
telegraph,  were  objects  beyond  the  grasp  of  the 
most  extravagant  poetic  imagination.  But  now 
they  are  a  practical  reality ;  entering  at  once 
into  the  daily  pursuits  of  mercantile  enterprize 
and  the  ordinary  arrangements  of  social  life. 
Could  the  distinguished  poet  of  the  past,  have 
gazed  from  his  mount  of  observation  upon 
modern  steam-fleets,  almost  hourly  despatched 
on  voyages  of  business,  or  warfare,  or  pleasure 
— could  he  have  marked  the  velocity  of  the 
railway  engine  dragging  in  its  train,  what  seems 
at  times  like  a  street  in  motion,  with  its  nu- 
merous apartments  and  various  classes  of  a  liv- 
ing population — or  could  he  have  heard  the 
joyful  tidings  of  the  fall  of  Sebastopol  in  the 
Exchange  of  London,  while  yet  the  cloud  of 
dust,  and  the  sheet  of  flame  were  ascending  from 
the  crashing  ruins  of  the  doomed  city  as  trans- 


148  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

mitted  through  the  agency  of  the  mysterious  iron 
chain  by  which  the  distant  Crimea  is  bound  to 
the  capital — would  he  not  have  asked  with  still 
deeper  emotions — 

"Whose  footsteps  these?" 
and  have  responded  with  a  deeper  emphasis — 

"  Immortals  have  been  here." 

Nay,  more,  we  apprehend,  that  had  he  seen  the 
Minister  at  War,  in  London,  conversing  with 
the  Commanding  General  before  the  walls  of  the 
besieged  Kussian  city,  by  the  aid  of  lightning, 
would  he  not  rather  have  been  disposed  to  ex- 
claim— 

"  That  MORE  than  mortals  have  been  here  ?" 

Would  he  not  have  discovered,  by  the  most  con- 
vincing evidence,  that,  though  immortals  have 
been  there  as  agents,  "  the  King  immortal,  eter- 
nal, and  invisible,"  was  there  as  the  Almighty 
Author  ?  It  is  true  that  immortals  are  the 
visible  agents  in  the  production  of  all  mechani- 
cal inventions.  But  who  is  the  Author  of  these 
immortals  ?  Who  gave  intelligence  to  the  con- 
triver, or  strength  and  skill  to  the  artificer,  by 
whom  machinery  is  constructed  ?  Are  the 
materials  or  the  operators  self-created  ?  Nay  ! 
Both  owe  their  existence  to  God,  and  both  fulfil 
their  mission,  and  occupy  their  respective  places 
in  the  scale  of  creation.  Here,  then,  is  a  vast 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       149 

region  of  artificial  phenomena,  constructed  by 
man,  and  employed  for  his  benefit.  We  ask, 
Who  is  its  proprietor  ?  Unto  whom  redounds 
the  glory  of  these  wonderful  works  ?  To  some 
one  it  must  be  accorded.  Shall  it  be  to  man, 
the  agent,  or  to  God,  the  Author  of  the  agent 
and  his  work  ?  It  is  evident  that,  unless  man 
made  the  machinery,  as  God  made  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  out  of  nothing,  he  has  no  right- 
ful claim  to  the  glory  of  their  existence,  in  a 
world  whereof  he  is  but  a  transitory  inhabitant; 
In  the  preceding  arguments  an  appeal  has  been 
made  to  Nature,  but  Nature,  so  replete  with 
their  elements,  has  no  power  to  proportion  or 
combine  them.  A  reference  has  been  made  to 
their  successive  development  in  regard  to  time, 
in  order  to  discover  whether  they  are  the  result 
of  fortuitous  circumstances  ;  but  Nature  and 
history  with  one  voice  declare — 

"  There 's  no  such  thing  as  chance  ; 
And  what  to  us  seems  merest  accident, 
Springs  from  the  deepest  source  of  destiny. 
This  various  human  being's  thoughts  and  deeds, 
Are  not  like  ocean  billows,  blindly  moved. 
The  inner  world  his  microcosmos,  is 
The  deep  shaft  out  of  which  they  spring  eternally."  * 

We  have  appealed  to  the  constitution  of  man. 
The  relations  and  adaptations  of  that  constitu- 

*  Schiller's  Wallenstein. 


150  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

tion  to  the  world  without,  have  been  traced.  The 
past  and  prospective  history  of  humanity  has 
been  viewed  in  the  light  of  Providence  disclosed, 
and  Providence  distinctly  indicated.  But  here, 
as  before,  the  creature  is  constrained  to  say,  "  It 
is  not  in  me  to  work  the  work,  nor  does  it  be- 
long to  me  to  receive  the  glory."  Kather  will 
the  child  of  reason,  enlightened  by  the  page  of 
revelation,  be  found  saying  of  this  region .  of 
phenomena,  what  was  said  by  our  first  father,  as 
described  by  Milton,  regarding  nature  : — 
rftti  kis- 

"  These  are  Thy  glorious  works,  Parent  of  Good ! 
Almighty !  Thine  is  this  universal  frame, 
This  wondrous  fair,  Thyself  how  wondrous  then : 
Unspeakable,  who  sittest  above  the  heavens, 
To  us  invisible,  or  dimly  seen, 
In  these  Thy  lowest  works,  yet  these  declare 
Thy  goodness  beyond  thought  and  power  divine." 
. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


SCRIPTURAL  EVIDENCE   THAT  MECHANICAL  INTENTIONS  ARE 
OP  GOD. 


THE  arguments  already  adduced  by  an  appeal 
to  facts  in  the  history  of  inventions,  must  be 
conclusive  to  every  mind  accustomed  to  trace 
effects  to  their  originating  causes.  We  now 
proceed  to  state  the  theological  argument  in 
order  to  prove  that  it  is  not  only  a  truth  that 
may  be  discovered,  and  defended  within  the 
region  of  philosophy,  but  also  a  truth  which 
is  clearly  revealed  in  Scripture — "a  doctrine 
according  to  godliness"-i-which  ought  to  be 
studied  and  reduced  to  practice  in  the  contem- 
plation of  artificial  phenomena. 

THE   PROVIDENCE    OF    GOD   IN    RELATION   TO 
MECHANICAL    INVENTIONS. 

By  the  Providence  of  G-od  is  understood  "  His 
most  holy,  wise,  and  powerful  preserving  and 
governing  all  His  creatures  ;  ordering  them,  and 
all  their  actions,  to  His  own  glory."*  This  de- 

*  Larger  Catechism. 


152  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

finition  is  in  strict  accordance  with  the  plainest 
declarations  of  Scripture,  which  testify  that 
"  His  kingdom  ruleth  over  all ;"  that  He  worketh 
all  things  after  the  counsel  of  His  will ;"  that 
"  He  doeth  according  to  His  will  in  the  army  of 
heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
and  none  can  stay  His  hand,  or  say  unto  Him, 
What  doest  Thou  ?"  The  providence  of  God  has 
been  considered  by  some  philosophical  writers 
as  general;  which  consists  in  upholding  certain 
general  laws,*  without  special  direction  of  the 
individual  creatures.  Thus  it  has  been  said 
"  That  the  Creator  of  the  universe  founded  the 
constitution  of  nature  in  such  a  manner  at  the 
beginning,  as  to  stand  in  need  of  no  succeeding 
alterations  ;  that  He  established  certain  laws  in 
the  material  and  in  the  moral  world,  which  uni- 
formly and  invariably  operate,  producing  all  the 
effects  which  He  ever  designed,  they  should  ac- 
complish ;  as  when  an  artist  frames  a  machine  for 
certain  purposes,  and  for  a  limited  duration,  the 
effects  which  result  from  it  spring  not  from  the 
immediate  direction  and  influence  of  the  artist, 
but  from  the  original  frame  and  composition  of 
the  machine."  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  main- 
tained that  "  Almighty  God,  upon  special  occa- 
sions, directs  and  overrules  the  course  of  events, 
both  in  the  natural  and  moral  world,  by  an  im- 
mediate influence,  to  answer  the  great  designs 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       153 

of  His  universal  government/'  These  views  are 
widely  different,  and  have  led  to  much  contro- 
versy and  misconception  ;  though  the  doctrines 
of  a  general  and  special  providence  are  in  no 
way  antagonistic.  Indeed,  they  are  inseparably 
connected.  "  The  general  providence  of  God, 
properly  understood,  reaches  to  the  most  partic- 
ular and  minute  objects  and  events  ;  and  the 
particular  providence  of  God  becomes  general 
by  its  embracing  every  particular."  It  seems 
remarkable  that  any  professing  to  bow  to  the 
authority  of  the  Bible  on  this  point,  should  ques- 
tion the  special  providence,  seeing  that  no  doc- 
trine is  more  expressly  stated  in  the  sacred 
volume.  Is  it  not  declared  thaj  a  sparrow  can- 
not fall  to  the  ground  without  the  knowledge  of 
our  heavenly  Father  ;  and  that  the  hairs  of  our 
head  are  all  numbered  ?  that  He  "  compasses 
our  paths,  and  is  acquainted  with  all  our  ways." 
But  even  reason  must  convince  those  who  hold 
the  doctrine  of  a  general  providence,  that  if  God 
has  certain  designs  to  accomplish  with  respect 
to,  and  by  means  of,  his  intelligent  creatures, 
these  designs  can  only  be  realized  by  a  particular 
attention  to  their  individual  circumstances,  their 
movements,  and  all  the  events  of  their  lives. 
How  is  it  possible  to  take  care  of  a  whole,  with- 
out taking  caje  of  the  parts  ;  or  to  preserve  a 
species,  if  the  individuals  are  neglected  ?  Great 


154  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

and  small  are  relative  terms,  springing  from  our 
limited  comprehension  of  the  essential  properties 
of  being,  which  can  never  he  appropriately  em- 
ployed in  speaking  of  the  relation  of  God  to  His 
creatures.  It  is  as  impossible  for  a  man  to  create 
an  atom  as  a  world  ;  and  as  easy  for  the  Creator 
to  preserve  the  one  as  the  other.  To  exclude 
the  idea  of  a  special  Providence,  reaching  every 
creature  in  its  existence  and  its  actions,  is  to  set 
limits  upon  the  Holy  One,  and  to  measure  the 
power  of  God  by  human  weakness.  The  ad- 
ministration of  the  Divine  Government  in  our 
world  is  so  arranged  that  the  individual  cannot 
be  absorbed  in  the  general,  so  as  to  be  deprived 
of  immediate  care  ;  nor  can  the  direction  of  the 
whole  interfere  with  the  regulation  of  every  part. 
The  infinitude  of  God  at  once  embraces  all,  and 
comprehends  each  individual  and  element,  as 
though  there  were  none  other  in  the  universe. 
As  no  creature  can  possibly  exist  without  God, 
so  there  is  not  a  creature  that  can  act  independ- 
ent of  Him.  His  presence  fills  immensity,  His 
power  is  the  universal  operator,  whether  the  in- 
strument be  inanimate  or  animate,  irrational  or 
rational.  No  event,  in  heaven,  earth,  or  hell 
escapes  His  observation,  or  exceeds  his  control. 
The  existence  of  every  thing,  from  an  atom  to  a 
world,  and  the  actions  of  every  creature,  from  an 
insect  to  an  angel,  are  equally  within  the  com- 


THEOLOGY   OF  INVENTIONS.  155 

pass  of  His  knowledge  and  the  grasp  of  His 
power.  No  event  that  can  possibly  occur  is  too 
momentous  or  too  minute  to  be  embraced  in 
this  administration.  The  fall  of  a  sparrow,  the 
death  of  a  sovereign,  the  tints  of  a  lily,  the  hues 
of  the  firmament,  the  fall  of  a  dewdrop,  the  over- 
throw of  a  tyrant,  the  course  of  a  river,  the  sub- 
version of  an  empire,  the  invention  of  a  machine, 
and  the  development  of  a  national  constitution, 
are  each  and  all  under  Divine  direction.  Every' 
hair  is  numbered,  every  atom  and  world  assigned: 
their  course,  every  element  and  instrument 
directed  to  their  original  design.  "All  things 
are  full  of  labor,"  but  this  labor  testifies  that 
they  are  full  of  God,  without  whom  existence  is 
not,  and  activity  cannot  be  sustained.  In  the 
regions  of  the  atmosphere,  in  the  depths  of  the 
dark  mine,  in  the  hidden  caverns  of  the  sea, 
Divine  Providence  is  reflected  by  every  object — 
Divine  power  is  felt  in  every  operation — Pivine 
guidance  is  imparted  to  every  agent.  Actions, 
as  well  as  creatures,  are  the  exponents  of  His 
purposes.  Physical  changes  upon  material 
things,  though  produced  by  intelligent  agents, 
are  not  the  less  manifestations  of  Divine  designs. 
The  studio  of  the  philosopher,  and  the  workshop 
of  the  mechanic,  are  as  much  within  the  domain 
of  Providence  as  the  most  secret  laboratory  of 
nature's  operations.  "  In  Him  we  live,  and  move, 


156       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

and  have  our  being/'  Life  in  existence,  life  in 
contrivance,  and  life  in  operation,  must  equally 
be  traced  to  the  Fountain  of  universal  being. 
If,  therefore,  God  is  acknowledged  in  this  general 
providence  as  the  Author  of  those  effects  which 
flow  from  natural  causation,  ought  not  His  spe- 
cial providence  to  be  equally  recognised  in  those 
effects  of  mechanical  operation  which  have  been 
produced  by  an  intelligent  agent  ?  If  we  call 
the  varied  processes  of  nature  the  works  of  God, 
while  only  instruments  in  the  Divine  hand,  may 
we  not,  with  more  propriety,  call  mechanical  in- 
ventions the  works  of  God,  seeing  that  they 
have  been  contrived  and  formed  by  agents 
possessing  mental  intelligence,  imparted  and 
directed  by  the  universal  Author  ?  The  truth 
is,  that  both  are  instruments  in  the  Divine  hand, 
though  in  a  very  different  category,  and  both, 
when  viewed  as  the  exponents  of  the  Divine 
will,  are  calculated  to  elevate  the  mind  from  im- 
mediate causes,  to  the  fountain  of  causation.  If 
it  may  with  propriety  be  said,  that 

"Nature  is  but  a  name  for  an  effect 
Whose  cause  is  God," 

may  it  not  with  equal  propriety  be  affirmed  that 
genius,  that  mechanical  skill,  are  emanations  of 
Deity,  in  whomsoever  they  may  be  reflected  ? 

In  adducing  the  special  providence  of  God, 
as  regulating  and  directing  the  actions  of  intel- 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       157 

ligent  beings,  it  might  seem  as  if  the  actors  were 
divested  of  a  moral  character,  and  had,  conse- 
quently, no  responsibility  to  the  moral  Gover- 
nor. Some  may  be  disposed  to  ask,  why  should 
the  instrument  employed  by  a  higher  power,  be 
dealt  with  as  a  moral  agent  ?  If  every  thing 
has  been  overruled,  and  directed  by  that  power, 
may  it  not  be  asked,  in  the  language  of  the 
objector  to  Paul's  doctrine,  "  why  doth  He  yet  find 
fault?  for  who  hath  resisted  His  will?"  To 
this  it  may  be  replied  that  all  moral  agents 
have  a  twofold  relation  to  God.  The  one  as  an 
instrument  in  the  Divine  hand,  the  other  as  a 
moral  agent  responsible  to  the  Divine  govern- 
ment. All  free  agents  have  power  to  act  under 
certain  limitations,  in  their  personal  character  ; 
but  they  may  be  and  are  employed,  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Divine  government  to  effect 
certain  purposes  unrevealed,  until  embodied  as 
facts  in  history.  In  the  one  aspect,  a  man  may 
be  inspired  with  genius  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
but  this  inspiration  does  not  in  any  respect 
change  his  moral  character,  or  moral  relations 
to  God.  Though  he  may  be  able  to  produce 
astonishing  changes  upon  the  material  world, 
and  though  these  changes  may  be  again  instru- 
mental in  effecting  moral  revolutions,  he  is  as 
a  person,  as  a  moral  agent,  subject  to  the  same 
laws,  as  any  other  of  his  fellowmen.  The  Scrip- 


158       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

ture  record  furnishes  many  instances  of  this 
twofold  aspect  of  humanity.  Thus,  Pharaoh, 
king  of  Egypt,  is  represented  in  both  aspects. 
God  sent  Moses  with  a  Divine  message  to  him  as 
a  person.  To  him  the  will  of  heaven  was  dis- 
tinctly made  known,  with  the  seal  of  an  unequi- 
vocal miracle  ;  but  Pharaoh  absolutely  refused 
obedience.  In  contempt  of  God,  he  asked, 
"  Who  is  the  Lord  that  I  should  obey  His  voice 
to  let  Israel  go  ?  I  know  not  the  Lord,  neither 
will  I  let  Israel  go."  Thus  he  hardened  his 
heart,  rejecting  the  clearest  evidence,  and  re- 
nouncing the  highest  authority.  Shall  the  pur- 
pose of  God  be  frustrated,  or  the  fulfilment  of 
the  promise  fail  ?  Shall  Pharaoh  be  relieved 
from  doing  his  part  as  sovereign,  in  granting 
the  request  Divinely  announced  ?  Shall  he  be 
simply  reserved  as  a  person  for  final  punish- 
ment ?  Nay,  the  purpose  must  be  accomplished. 
The  command  shall  be  obeyed  ;  but  in  both 
the  haughty  monarch  shall  be  employed  as  an 
instrument  in  doing  God's  work,  though  finally 
destroyed,  because  in  the  doing  of  that  work  he 
refused  Divine  homage.  When  he  would  not 
obey  God  as  a  person,  he  was,  nevertheless,  pre- 
served as  'an  instrument,  until  the  purposes  of 
God  in  raising  him  up  had  been  fulfilled. 
Hence  it  was  said  to  Moses,  "  Now,  thou  wilt  see 
what  I  will  do  to  Pharaoh  ;  for,  with  a  strong 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       159 

hand  shall  he  let  them  go,  and  with  a  strong 
hand  shall  he  drive  them  out  of  his  land." 
Through  a  series  of  judgments  he  was  compelled 
by  external  influences,  *  do  as  an  instrument 
what  he  absolutely  refused  to  do  as  a  moral 
agent.  Besides,  though  the  act  of  liberation  was 
good,  in  so  far  as  it  accorded  with  the  purpose 
and  will  of  God,  the  person  was  punished  be- 
cause his  will  was  directly  opposed  to  the  Divine 
will. 

Balaam,  the  false  prophet,  appears  in  the  same 
aspect.  He  was  solicited  by  the  messengers  of 
Balak  to  go,  and  curse  Israel.  God  commanded 
him  not  to  go,  but  his  heart  was  won  by  the 
prospective  rewarc^  The  will  of  God  was  ex- 
pressly revealed  to  him,  as  a  moral  agent.  For 
"  God  said  unto  Balaam,  Thou  shalt  not  go  with 
them  ;  thou  shalt  not  curse  the  people  ;  for  they 
are  blessed."  Beyond  this  the  prophet  required 
no  further  direction  ;  but  when  solicited  the 
second  time,  with  the  promise  of  a  great  reward 
he  desired  in  his  heart  to  go,  though  restrained, 
and  God  in  judgment  permitted  him  to  accom- 
pany the  Princes  of  Moab,  while  he  employed 
him  as  an  instrument  in  the  Divine  hand  to  bless 
the  chosen  people.  As  a  person  he  was  willing 
to  curse  the  Israelites,  but  inspired  as  an  instru- 
ment he  was  constrained  to  bless  ;  and  even 
Balak  afforded  the  occasion,  and  enlisted  the 


160       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

prophet,  by  whom  a  most  sublime  prediction,  re- 
garding the  future  triumphs  of  the  Israelites, 
was  poured  out  in  the  presence  of  their  ene- 
mies.* 

The  King  of  Assyria  is  also  presented  in  this 
twofold  aspect,  while  permitted  to  smite  the  of- 
fending Israelites.  "0,  Assyrian,  the  rod  of 
Mine  anger,  and  the  staff  in  their  hand  is  Mine 
indignation,  I  will  send  him  against  an  hypocri- 
tical nation,  and  against  the  people  of  My  wrath 
will  I  give  him  a  charge,  to  take  the  spoil,  and 
to  take  the  prey,  and  to  tread  them  down  like 
the  mire  of  the  streets.  Howbeit,  lie  meaneth 
not  so,  neither  doth  his  heart  think  so  ;  for  it 
is  in  his  heart  to  destroy  and^ut  off  nations  not 
a  few/'  f  Here  the  ambition  and  pride  of  a  so- 
vereign give  rise  to  a  bold  invasion,  with  a  view 
to  national  aggrandizement  ;  but  here  also  is 
the  providence  of  God,  directing  the  same  line 
of  action,  with  a  view  to  the  correction  of  the 
Israelites,  and  the  ultimate  promotion  of  their 
spiritual  interests.  The  conqueror  of  nations 
was  an  instrument  wielded  by  the  hand  of  the 
Almighty  to  punish  the  guilty.  But,  when  the 
Lord  had  accomplished  His  purpose  by  chastise- 
ment, and  the  time  had  come  for  4he  deliverance 
of  His  people  from  captivity,  another  mighty 
sovereign,  though  a  heathen,  was  employed  as  a 

<*  Num.  xxii.,  xxiii.,  xxiv.  f  Isaiah,  x,  5. 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       161 

minister  of  mercy.  The  Lord  stirred  up  the 
spirit  of  Cyrus,  King  of  Persia,*  to  pass  a  decree 
of  emancipation. 

The  Jews  appear  in  the  same  aspect,  as 
charged  with  guilt  by  the  Apostle  Peter,  in  re- 
lation to  the  crucifixion  of  our  Lord.  "  Ye  men 
of  Israel,  hear  these  words  ;  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
a  man  approved  of  God  among  you,  by  miracles, 
and  wonders,  and  signs,  which  God  did  by  him 
in  the  midst  of  you,  as  ye  yourselves  also  know : 
Him  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel 
and  fore  knowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and 
by  wicked  hands,  have  crucified  and  slain."  f 
The  Jews,  as  persons,  were  involved  in  the 
deepest  guilt  because  of  their  rejection  of  the 
Lord  of  glory,  irrespective  of  the  clearest  evi- 
dence of  His  Messiahship  ;  while  their  enmity 
was  overruled,  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
eternal  purposes  of  God,  regarding  the  death  of 
Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners. 

The  testimony  of  the  Apostle  Paul  is  conclu- 
sive upon  this  subject.  He  represents  himself 
as  a  person  under  solemn  responsibility,  and  at 
the  same  time,  as  an  instrument  constrained  to 
do  God's  work.  "  Though  I  preach  the  Gospel, 
I  have  nothing  to  glory  of :  for  necessity  is  laid 
upon  me  ;  yea,  woe  is  unto  me,  if  I  preach  not 
the  Gospel."  He  felt  impelled  by  inspiration. 

*  Ezra  i,  1.  f  Acts  ii,  22-27. 


162       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

He  must  become  an  agent  in  the  Divine  hand 
to  perform  the  work  given  him  to  do.  But,  he 
feels  that  the  reward  is  related  to  the  spirit  in 
which  the  work  shall  be  done  ;  hence  he  adds, 
"  For  if  I  do  this  thing  willingly/'  that  is,  as  a 
person — a  free  agent,  having  received  a  com- 
mission, and  holding  it  under  deep  responsibility, 
"  I  have  a  reward,  but  if  against  my  will" — if 
merely  as  an  instrument — "  then  a  dispensation 
of  the  Gospel  is  committed  unto  me."  As  under 
the  Constraint  of  inspiration,  he  must  unfold  the 
Gospel  of  Christ,  though  merely  as  an  instrument ; 
while  comfort  in  his  work,  and  the  reward  of  it, 
must  be  regulated  by  the  spirit  in  which,  as  a 
free  agent,  the  duty  is  performed.  That  the 
spirit  might  not  be  retarded,  he  watches  strictly 
over  the  state  of  the  outward  man.  "I  keep 
under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection  ; 
lest  that  by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached 
to  others,  I  myself  should  be  a  cast-away." 

If,  then,  individuals  of  the  human  family, 
have  been  specially  employed  by  a  peculiar  in- 
spiration to  perform  some  special  work,  in  the 
dispensations  of  providence,  may  not  the  prin- 
ciples embodied  in  their  destination  to  a  special 
service,  be  unfolded  in  the  whole  development 
of  human  genius  ?  If  one  man  in  the  capacity 
of  a  warrior  be  employed,  as  an  instrument  to 
execute  Divine  vengeance  upon  a  nation,  and  if 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  163 

he  be  inspired  as  Gideon  was,  by  the  Spirit  of  ' 
God,  with  skill  and  courage  to  accomplish  his 
work.  If  another  is  inspired  as  Cyrus,  to  grant 
a  decree  of  emancipation  to  an  enslaved  nation. 
If  a  third  is  inspired  to  proclaim  the  will  of 
God  in  regard  to  the  redemption  of  sinners,  on 
what  principle  shall  we  exclude  special  genius 
from  the  category  of  mental  inspiration  ?  The 
providence  of  God  includes  the  physical,  as  well 
as  the  moral  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the 
world.  In  both,  men  are  employed  as  instru- 
ments, and  by  a  special  providence  are  prepared 
for  their  work.  In  both,  there  are  certain  facts 
unknown  to  man,  which  must  be  revealed,  be- 
fore he  can  realize  their  benefit.  In  both  cases 
there  seems  to  be  a  similar  necessity,  for  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  reveal  the  un- 
known, so  that  man  may  ever  feel  his  absolute 
dependence  upon  the  Universal  Governor.  This 
doctrine  of  mental  inspiration  shall  afterwards 
be  distinctly  proved,  when  considering  the  scrip- 
tural records  of  the  arts  and  sciences  in  illustra- 
tion of  our  main  theory. 

Admitting  the  doctrine  of  Divine  providence 
universal  and  special,  as  restraining,  directing, 
and  overruling  the  actions  of  men,  there  cannot 
possibly  be  any  exclusion,  of  the  triumphs  of 
genius  from  this  universal  and  special  source  of 
causation.  Within  this  exercise  of  Divine  power, 


164       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

must  be  included  every  object,  inanimate  or 
animate,  natural,  or  mechanical.  In  the  natural 
phenomena,  all  things  were  made  for  the  glory 
of  God  as  creator.  In  the  transitions  of  the 
natural,  and  in  the  development  of  the  me- 
chanical phenomena,  all  things  are  destined  to 
show  forth  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  God 
of  providence.  The  world  as  originally  made, 
is  but  the  embodiment  of  the  Divine  decrees  re- 
garding creation.  The  world,  in  its  history, 
and  in  the  transformation  of  its  elements  by 
natural  causes,  or  by  mechanical  skill,  is  but  the 
development  of  the  Divine  decrees  in  the  pro- 
gressive dispensations  of  Providence.  The  Bible 
reveals  to  man  vast  physical,  and  social  changes, 
as  embraced  in  the  purposes  of  the  Moral  Gov- 
ernor. The  distribution  of  genius,  and  the  in- 
vention of  machinery,  are  providential  means  by 
which  these  purposes  of  benevolence  shall  be 
accomplished.  Both  are  the  gifts  of  God,  com- 
ing through  the  ordinary  or  special  channels  of 
His  providence  ;  at  once  designed  to  bless 
humanity,  and  elicit  from  the  recipients,  grati- 
tude and  praise  to  the  bountiful  benefactor. 
"  Every  good  gift,  and  every  perfect  gift,  cometh 
down  from  the  Father  of  lights  with  whom  there 
is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning." 
If,  therefore,  God  is  the  author  of  every  mental 
and  mechanical  gift,  irrespective  of  the  species 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  165 

of  instrumentality  by  which  it  is  bestowed,  it 
must  be  apparent  that  these  gifts  themselves 
ought  to  be  considered  as  emanations  of  the 
wisdom,  and  power,  and  goodness  of  God.  Thus, 
in  the  doctrine  of  Providence,  the  whole  theory 
which  has  been  previously  propounded,  finds  a 
solid  and  capacious  foundation.  Here,  the  whole 
argument  might  be  conclusively  settled,  seeing 
that  both  reason,  and  revelation,  claim  for  God 
the  glory  that  is  due  to  His  name,  from  every 
region  of  the  material  world.  But  in  order  that 
it  may  be  clearly  manifest  that  this  doctrine  is 
not  merely  a  deduction  from  reason,  or  an  in- 
ference from  the  doctrine  of  Providence,  we  pro- 
ceed to  show  that  it  is  a  principle  fully  acknow- 
ledged in  the  Bible ;  being  not  only  a  truth  which 
may  be  discovered,  but  a  doctrine  according  to 
godliness,  to  be  received  and  applied  in  all  our 
conceptions  of  the  arts  and  sciences. 

THE  BIBLE  RECORD  OF  MECHANICAL  PROGRESS,  AN 
EVIDENCE  THAT  INVENTIONS  ARE  OF  GOD. 

The  history  of  inventions  is  nearly  coeval 
with  the  existence  of  man,  and  the  Divine  re- 
cord carries  us  within  the  precincts  of  paradise. 
That  record  may  be  viewed  either  in  respect  to 
what  the  command  of  God  implied,  or  the  facts 
in  human  history,  which  it  has  transmitted.  In 
regard  to  the  former,  the  command  to  "dress 


166  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

the  garden  and  to  keep  it,"  as  well  as  the  com- 
mand to  "  subdue  the  earth/'  implies  the  use  of 
implements.  Some  have  supposed  that  even  in 
Eden,  our  first  parents  were  furnished  with  me- 
chanical inventions,  suited  to  their  work  in 
dressing  and  keeping  the  garden  ;  otherwise 
their  work  must  have  been  reduced  to  the  scale 
of  savage  efforts.  But  upon  such  a  question 
the  reasonings  of  man  can  only  amount  to  con- 
jecture. Whether  G-od  furnished  Adam  with 
utensils,  suited  to  his  work,  cannot  now  be  de- 
termined, nor  does  it  lie  within  the  line  of  argu- 
ment adopted.  But  of  this  there  is  Scripture 
evidence,  that  work  was  given  him  to  do,  and  a 
constitution  adapted  to,  that  provision  made  in 
the  world  for  "the  accomplishment  of  this  work. 
The  commission  given  to  Adam  respecting  the 
garden,  and  the  world,  must  have  awakened 
ideas  in  his  mind,  concerning  the  means  by 
which  that  commission  might  be  carried  into 
execution.  Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  man 
was  made  in  the  image  of  Grod,  in  knowledge, 
righteousness,  and  holiness  ;  and  being  thus 
made,  he  could  not  blindly  receive  a  charge,  re- 
garding the  means  of  accomplishing  which  he 
could  form  no  conception.  In  receiving  his  com- 
mission, he  was  addressed  as  a  person — a  moral 
agent  ;  and  consequently,  his  moral  nature  re- 
sponded in  accordance  with  the  light  then 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       167 

enjoyed.  And  what  was  that  light  but  the  efful- 
gence of  divinity,  beaming  upon  the  heaven-born 
soul ;  and  reflected  upon  the  field  of  nature, 
over  which  he  was  constituted  legal  sovereign  ? 
How  comprehensive,  must  necessarily  have  been 
his  knowledge  of  that  world  which  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  govern  !  Equally  ODrnprehensive  must 
have  been  his  knowledge  of  the  means  and  in- 
struments by  which  he  might  perform  the  work 
given  him  to  do  in  the  discharge  of  present 
duty.  But  by  the  fall,  the  Divine  image  was 
lost,  the  intellectual,  as  well  as  the  moral  nature 
became  depraved.  So  little  remained  of  the 
previous  knowledge,  that  when  human  naked- 
ness was  discovered,  human  ingenuity  found  in 
nature  nothing  better  than  fig-leaves  for  a  tem- 
porary covering.  This  is  the  primary  fact  of 
mechanical  development ;  showing  that  man  has 
not  only  lost  the  moral  capability  of  obeying  the 
command  of  Grod  ;  but  also  that  he  has  lost  the 
knowledge  of  nature's  elements ;  and  must 
henceforth  be  guided  even  in  mechanical  opera- 
tions by  the  Author  of  his  being. 

Even  this  first  attempt  at  invention  seems  to 
be  tacitly  rejected  by  offended  Deity.  The  re- 
storation of  man,  physically  as  well  -as  morally, 
must  begin  with  God.  The  criminal  must  not 
appropriate  even  the  least  of  the  blessings  for- 
feited in  the  violation  of  the  covenant,  until  di- 


168  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

rected  by  Divine  example,  and  recommissioned 
by  Divine  authority.  In  this  commission  the 
subduing  of  the  earth  is  inseparable  from  human 
toil ;  while  God  himself  gives  the  first  impulse, 
and  presents  the  first  specimens  of  mechanical 
operations.  "  Unto  Adam  and  to  his  wife  did  the 
Lord  make  coats  of  skins  and  clothed  them." 
It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  skins  were 
those  taken  from  the  first  sacrifices,  conse- 
quently, the  very  symbols  which  instructed  fallen 
man  in  the  mysteries  of  spiritual  redemption, 
also  afforded  first  lessons  upon  the  elements 
and  means  of  physical  elevation.  Does  not  this 
clearly  indicate  that  the  moral  renovation  of  the 
world  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  physical  eman- 
cipation, from  much  of  the  evil  inflicted  by  the 
curse  ?  In  this  Scripture  record,  the  mind  is 
led  up  to  the  source  of  mechanical  inventions, 
while  God  himself  is  the  designer,  and  the  opera- 
tor. Is  not  the  whole  region  of  artificial  pheno- 
mena, ennobled  by  this  origin,  apparently  limited 
though  it  be  ?  Who  need  be  ashamed  of  honest 
labor,  though  humble,  when  the  Author  of  the 
universe  made  coats  for  man,  in  the  day  of  his 
extremity  ? 

From  this  example,  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  sons  of  Adam  would  in  process  of  time 
be  similarly  clothed,  and  instructed  in  the  mys- 
teries of  the  sacrificial  system.  Implements, 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  169 

and  skill  to  use  them,  must  have  been  in  requi- 
sition in  the  time  of  Abel,  who  "brought  of  the 
firstlings  of  his  flock,  and  of  the  fat  thereof"  for 
sacrifice,  which  could  not  have  been  prepared 
for  the  altar  without  some  mechanical  inven- 
tions. Cain  was  a  tiller  of  the  ground,  which 
also  implies  the  invention,  and  use  of  agricul- 
tural implements.  But  these  records  of  the 
early  history  of  humanity  are  not  confined  to 
the  first  efforts  of  husbandry,  or  to  the  initiatory 
rites  of  the  sacrificial  system.  Though  the 
raising  of  food  from  a  blighted  soil,  and  the 
spiritual  teaching  by  types  and  symbols  were' 
necessarily  among  the  earliest  expositions  of  the 
arts,  they  were  immediately  accompanied  by 
another  invention  which  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  social  progress. 

The  outcast,  Cain,  is  represented  as  building 
and  naming  a  city.  We  are  still  within  the 
limits  of  Adam's  family,  and  yet  there  is  pre- 
sented an  extensive  acquaintance  •vuth  the  arts 
of  industry.  The  idea  of  a  city  implies  the 
erection  of  permanent  buildings,  and  conse- 
quently the  invention,  and  use  of  architectural 
implements.  Though  he  was  a  fratricide,  and 
under  the  ban  of  heaven  an  exile  from  his 
father's  dwelling,  the  Spirit  of  God  has  recorded 
his  first  efforts  in  the  founding  of  those  congre- 
gated habitations  which  have  exerted  so  much 
8 


170       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

influence  over  the  social  history  of  humanity. 
That  God  of  providence  who  disclosed  in  the 
field,  the  blood  of  Abel,  and  who  brought  the 
culprit  Cain  to  condign  punishment,  yet  pre- 
served him  as  an  instrument,  giving  a  new 
aspect  to  the  world,  and  the  Spirit  records  him 
a  builder  as  well  as  a  murderer.  The  sense  of 
fear  which  the  guilt  of  his  brother's  blood,  and 
the  sentence  of  God  impressed  upon  his  soul, 
gave  rise  to  the  idea  of  union  for  protection. 
The  fortified  cities  of  ancient  and  modern 
times  are  but  an  expansion  of  this  primitive 
idea;  and  thus  the  guilt  of  Cain  was  made 
the  occasion  of  introducing  a  system  of  social 
polity  which  has  been  the  guardian  of  life 
through  ages  of  barbarism.  The  Spirit  of  God, 
who  "  knoweth  the  end  from  the  beginning,"  has 
marked  the  first  efforts  of  genius,  though  the 
fuller  development  has  not  been  made  a  matter 
of  sacred  history.  Is  not  this  designed  to  teach 
man  the  minute  care  of  the  providence  of  God, 
and  the  relation  of  all  the  arts  of  industry  to  His 
moral  government  ? 

In  the  brief  history  of  Cain's  descendants, 
there  is  a  more  explicit  record  of  the  progress 
of  the  arts.  Though  the  name  of  Lamech — 
the  fifth  in  descent  from  the  builder  of  the  city — 
is  associated  with  the  invasion  of  the  domestic 
constitution  by  the  introduction  of  polygamy  ; 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       171 

yet  in  his  family  the  pen  of  inspiration  has 
traced  the  rapid  development  of  the  arts  and 
sciences.  Of  his  first-horn,  Jabal,  it  is  recorded, 
"  He  was  the  father  of  such  as  dwell  in  tents, 
and  of  such  as  have  cattle."  To  be  a  father,  in 
Scripture  language,  usually  implies  the  origina- 
tor, or  inventor  of  some  new  enterprize.  In  the 
time  of  Abel  sheep  were  kept,  but  it  seems  to 
have  been  under  the  hand  of  Jabal  that  this 
primitive  calling  was  reduced  to  anything  like 
a  system,  destined  to  exist  from  age  to  age. 
He  is  thus  represented  as  the  founder  of  the 
Nomadic  tribes,  which,  throughout  the  east, 
even  till  the  present  day,  dwell  in  tents,  and 
pasture  their  cattle  at  will,  without  respect  to 
local  boundaries.  This  aspect  of  social  life 
arose,  in  some  measure,  out  of  domestic  circum- 
stances. So  rapid  was  the  increase  of  the  flocks, 
around  a.  fixed  habitation,  or  primitive  city,  that, 
like  the  herds  of  Abraham  and  Lot,  the  ground 
was  unable  to  bear  them,  consequently  the  scat- 
tering of  the  shepherds  gave  rise  to  the  necessity 
of  moveable  habitations  ;  and  thus  was  evolved 
in  the  time  of  Jabal,  the  art  of  tent  making, 
which  was  learned  by  the  Apostle  Paul  about  the 
Christian  era  ;  and  which  is  still  the  occupation 
of  many  in  eastern  countries. 

These  inventions  of  Jabal,  the  result  of  ne- 
cessity, were  accompanied  by  others  calculated  to 


172       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

elevate  and  refine  society.     The  practical  saga- 
city of  the  shepherd  is  associated  in  Holy  Writ, 
with  the  spontaneous  efforts  of  taste  and  genius; 
clearly  indicating  that  man  was  constituted  not 
only  to  labor  and  live  upon  the  productions  of 
nature,  as  possessing   animal  life,  but  also  to 
draw  from  nature  sources  of  mental  elevation 
and  social  enjoyment  as  a  rational  and  spiritual 
being.      The   sacred   narrative  announces,  that 
"  his  brother's  name  was  Jubal :  he  was  the  father 
of  all  such   as   handle   the   harp   and  organ." 
Here  were  disclosed  the  grand  types  of  all  me- 
chanical harmony.     Wind  and  stringed  instru- 
ments, in   their  varied   artificial   combinations 
constitute  the  chief,  and  embrace  in  their  expan- 
sion   the   whole   development   of  musical  ma- 
chinery.    Simple  and  rude  these  primitive  in- 
struments must  have  been,  in  their  'original  con- 
struction ;  but  the  fact  of  their  existence  in  this 
early  age,  and  the  recorded  notice  of  the  name 
of  their  inventor,  prove,  that  even  before  the 
wilder  notes  of  the  voice  of  nature,  were  heard 
amidst  the  conflicting  elements  of  that  stormy 
sea  of  judgment,  which  encircled  the  globe  ;  the 
softer   strains    of   Eden's    dying  melody    were 
stereotyped  by  Jubal  and  his  musical  descend- 
ants.    From  this  name  Jubal,  it  is  evident  that 
we  derive  the  term  jubilee  ;  and  well  does  the 
invention  of  musical  instruments  accord  with  the 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       173 

year  of  jubilee  among  the  Israelites  ;  when  the 
trumpet  sounds,  were  the  peals  of  liberty,  caus- 
ing the  heart  of  every  slave  to  thrill  with  joy. 
Nor  is  the  record  of  inspiration  devoid  of  hope 
for  the  world,  in  which  the  jubilee  trumpet  of 
liberty  shall  yet  be  sounded,  "and  the  ransomed 
of  the  LORD  shall  return,  and  come  to  Zion  with 
songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads  :  they 
shall  obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and 
sighing  shall  flee  away." 

In  the  succeeding  verse  of  the  same  narra- 
tive, there  is  a  more  general  exposition  of  the 
arts  of  industry.  "  Tubal-Cain  was  an  instruc- 
tor of  every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron/'  This  son 
of  Zillah,  is  generally  supposed  to  be  the  Vulcan 
of  the  ancients — that  fictitious  deity  whose  name 
occurs  so  frequently  in  classic  story.  He  is  not 
like  his  brethren  Jabal  and  Jubal,  described  as 
the  father  of  those  who  were  his  contemporaries, 
or  descendants  in  the  same  profession,  but  as 
their  instructor.  Besides,  this  title  is  employed 
in  its  most  comprehensive  sense,  "  the  instructor 
of  every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron."  It  would 
seem  as  if  he  was  endowed  with  a  peculiar 
genius  for  the  special  instruction  of  all  his  con- 
temporary artificers,  in  the  smelting,  and  mould- 
ing, and  mechanical  use  of  these  precious  metals. 
At  a  later  period,  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab,  inspired 
by  the  Spirit,  are  represented  as  qualified  "  to 


174       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

teach"  and  instruct  others  in  the  mechanical 
arts.  Even  in  this  peculiar  case  of  Tubal-Cain, 
as  recorded  by  the  Spirit,  it  would  appear  that 
there  must  have  been  some  mental  inspiration, 
by  which  he  was  distinguished  from  all  his  fel- 
lows. How  extensive  must  have  been  his  know- 
ledge of  the  precious  metals,  and  the  purposes  to 
which  they  may  be  applied  ?  In  this  single  re- 
cord there  is  unfolded  an  extensive  exposition  of 
the  founder's  art.  There  is  the  extraction  of  the 
mineral  ore — the  smelting,  mixing,  and  mould- 
ing or  beating  of  these  substances  into  mechani- 
cal forms  suited  to  all  the  varied  purposes  of 
agricultural,  or  social  life.  There  must  have 
been,  even  in  this  early  age,  considerable  ac- 
quaintance with  practical  chemistry,  accom- 
panied by  mechanical  skill,  ere  the  mineral  ores 
could  be  prepared  for  the  artificer,  or  when  pre- 
pared, to  be  rendered  subservient  to  their  vari- 
ous purposes.  Is  not  this  early  discovery  of  the 
most  useful  of  all  the  metals,  and  the  Scripture 
record  of  this  distinguished  mechanic,  a  testi- 
mony to  the  care  with  which  the  God  of  provi- 
dence, watched  over,  and  directed  the  progres- 
sion of  the  arts  and  sciences  ? 

The  heathen  poets  have  sung  of  the  golden 
age,  may  not  Christian  poets  sing  of  the  age  of 
iron  ?  That  age  stretches  back  until  at  least 
the  period  of  Tubal-Cain.  The  history  of  iron 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  175 

is  associated  with  the  progress  of  mechanical  in- 
ventions, and  the  civilization  of  kingdoms  ;  and 
never  were  such  triumphs  of  genius  realized  as 
those  which  in  modern  times  have  been  effected 
by  its  instrumentality.  From  the  least  to  the 
greatest  of  mechanical  inventions,  it  finds  a 
place  either  as  embodied  in,  or  giving  form  to, 
every  implement.  Though  not  usually  esteemed 
one  of  the  precious  metals,  its  value  to  man  ex- 
ceeds that  of  all  others.  None  else  could  supply 
its  place  ;  and  were  its  precious  ores  exhausted, 
universal  paralysis  would  arrest  mechanical  pro- 
gress. The  whole  history  of  mercantile  and 
social  life  would  be  completely  transformed. 
The  existence  of  this  single  mineral,  and  the 
large  proportion  it  bears  to  other  minerals, 
taken  in  connexion  with  its  relation  to  the  pre- 
sent condition  of  man,  must  convince  even  the 
sceptic  that  it  has  been  created  and  deposited 
by  a  God  of  infinite  wisdom  and  boundless  bene- 
ficence. This  argument,  addressed  to  reason, 
is  confirmed  by  revelation,  which  at  once  un- 
folds the  creative  power  and  providential  care, 
of  the  sovereign  Kuler.  This  family  of  Lamech 
was  not  within  the  line  of  the  antideluvian 
Church,  neither  is  the  exposition  of  the  arts  in 
that  family  presented  in  immediate  relation 
to  the  development  of  the  covenant  of  grace  ; 
but  yet  the  Spirit  of  God  has  recorded  both  the 


176  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

names  of  the  inventors  and  the  departments  of 
art  in  which  their  skill  was  exercised,  in  order 
to  show  with  what  care  the  God  of  providence 
watches  over  His  creatures,  and  also  their  com- 
mon operations  in  the  field  of  nature.  Besides, 
it  seems  apparent,  from  such  incidental  records 
of  inspiration,  that  God  will  honor  those  who 
honor  Him,  even  in  common  things,  by  dis- 
playing the  riches  of  the  earth,  which  are  but 
the  material  embodiment  of  the  Divine  decrees 
of  wisdom  and  goodness.  There  seems  in  the 
human  constitution  a  native  principle,  which 
constrains  man  to  look  above  and  beyond  him- 
self in  mechanical  operations.  The  ancient 
heathen  world,  having  lost  the  key  of  knowledge, 
attributed  their  achievements  in  art  to  their  fic- 
titious deities  ;  but  the  Bible,  by  revealing  the 
relation  in  which  God  stands  to  the  world  and 
to  its  inhabitants,  as  its  Creator  and  Governor, 
claims  for  Jehovah  the  praise  of  all  His  works. 
Thus  the  Psalmist,  responding  to  this  claim, 
invokes  not  only  the  homage  of  angels  and  of 
saints,  but  also  the  silent  homage  of  creation 
work  in  all  its  departments.  "  Bless  the  LORD, 
all  His  works,  in  all  places  of  His  dominion  ; 
bless  the  LORD,  0  my  soul !  " 

In  the  rapid  degeneracy  of  the  human  race, 
the  command,  " Subdue  the  earth"  was  forgot- 
ten, while  human  depravity  displayed  itself  in 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS,       177 

the  attempts  of  the  strong  to  overcome  and  sub- 
due  the  weak.  The  giant  strength  of  the 
mighty,  instead  of  heing  employed,  as  in  the 
beginning,  with  agriculture  or  art,  was  made  the 
instrument  of  unparalleled  violence.  "  God  saw 
that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the 
earth,  and  that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts 
of  his  heart  was  only  evil,  and  that  continually. 
The  earth  also  was  corrupt  before  God,  and  the 
earth  was  filled  with  violence/'  There  is  little 
doubt  that  the  rapid  progress  of  the  arts  in  the 
previous  age,  as  associated  with  universal  cor- 
ruption, would  become  a  curse,  instead  of  a 
blessing.  The  violence  of  human  depravity 
would  be  rendered  more  violent  through  their 
instrumentality.  But  the  Flood,  as  a  judgment 
from  God,  cut  short  that  reign  of  terror,  and 
swept  away  all  the  apparatus  of  former  tyranny. 
The  ark  alone  survived  the  storm  of  Divine 
wrath,  and  rested  upon  Ararat,  the  memorial  of 
providence  and  grace.  But  in  the  ark,  as  well 
as  in  the  experience  of  its  inhabitants,  the  world, 
emerging  from  a  second  chaos,  possessed  a  com- 
prehensive stock  of  mechanical  knowledge.  This 
is  apparent  from  the  history  of  its  construction. 
This  refuge  from  the  flood  was  not  created,  but 
made  by  human  hands,  in  accordance  with  a 
Divine  plan.  "Make  thee  an  ark  of  gopher- 
wood  :  rooms  shalt  thou  make  in  the  ark,  and 
8* 


178  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

shalt  pitch  it  within  and  without  with  pitch. 
And  this  is  the  fashion  which  thou  shalt  make 
it  of :  the  length  of  the  ark  shall  be  three  hun- 
dred cubits,  the  breadth  of  it  fifty  cubits,  and 
the  height  of  it  thirty  cubits.  A  window  shalt 
thou  make  to  the  ark,  and  in  a  cubit  shalt  thou 
finish  it  above  ;  and  the  door  of  the  ark  shalt 
thou  set  in  the  side  thereof ;  with  lower,  second, 
and  third  stories  shalt  thou  make  it."  This 
commission  furnishes  clear  evidence  of  the  pro- 
gress already  made  in  the  mechanic  arts.  From 
the  tenor  of  this  announcement,  it  is  apparent 
that  the  geometrical  proportions  were  already 
understood — that  doors  and  windows,  or  openings 
for  light,  ventilation,  and  entrance,  had  been 
usually  framed — that  first,  second,  and  third 
stories  had  been  previously  constructed — and 
that  pitch  had  been  employed  in  conjunction 
with  wood  to  resist  the  action  of  wind  and  water. 
Had  the  whole  work  been  original,  like  the 
Tabernacle,  then  specific  directions  and  explana- 
tions would  have  been  absolutely  necessary. 
But  in  this  case,  the  language  is  such  as  would 
be  addressed  to  any  contractor  acquainted  with 
the  elements  and  mode  of  operation  necessary  in 
the  accomplishment  of  a  given  work.  Indeed, 
it  would  seem  from  the  narration  that  Noah 
must  have  had  some  acquaintance  with  the  art 
of  navigation,  or  at  least  with  the  fact  that  a 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       179 

building  of  wood  could  be  so  constructed  as  to 
float  upon  the  waters.  In  this  case,  the  vessel 
constructed  was  not  designed  for  crossing  the 
mighty  deep  from  shore  to  shore,  but  for  holding 
out  amidst  the  warring  elements,  and  floating 
upon  the  bosom  of  the  earth-encircling  ocean, 
consequently  the  plan  was  not  only  original,  but 
Divinely  communicated.  Thus,  in  the  goodness 
of  God,  while  the  deluge  was  reducing  the  world 
to  a  state  similar  to  that  in  which  it  was  found 
as  occupied  by  Adam,  in  respect  of  population, 
and  while  the  curse  had  now  taken  fearful  effect 
upon  the  physical  globe  in  this  dread  outburst 
of  Divine  wrath,  provoked  by  sin,  the  education 
of  the  human  family  in  religion,  in  morality, 
and  in  scientific  knowledge,  was  gradually  pro- 
gressing. All  the  skill  acquired  by  Noah  and 
his  family  in  building  the  ark  was  transferred 
directly  to  the  postdiluvian  world  ;  while  far 
above  the  tide-mark  of  ocean's  future  boundary, 
and  the  most  elevated  region  of  agricultural  en- 
terprize,  stood  the  ark  upon  Ararat — for  the 
study  of  future  generations — the  model  of 
architecture  in  its  construction,  and  the  em- 
bodiment of  naval  science  in  its  history.  Thus 
it  appears  that  the  history  of  the  postdiluvian 
world  started  from  a  much  higher  altitude  than 
that  of  the  world  into  which  fallen  Adam  was 
cast  out.  It  would  seem  that  the  congregating 


180  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

of  the  animals  and  fowls  within  the  ark,  and  the 
time  during  which  they  were  entrusted  to  Noah's 
care,  were  designed  to  renew  that  acquaintance 
with  their  nature,  habits,  and  uses  which  man 
had  lost  by  the  loss  of  dominion,  but  which  was 
now  rendered  necessary  by  the  renewal  of  his 
original  charter.  The  sagacity  which  was  in- 
tuitive in  Adam,  when  he  gave  them  their  names, 
could  only  be  realized  by  his  fallen  descendants 
through  persevering  study  and  observation. 
Viewed  in  this  light,  the  ark  appears  as  combin- 
ing all  the  elementary  principles  of  a  school  of  art, 
a  school  of  natural  history,  and  a  school  of  experi- 
mental navigation  ;  while  the  raging  storm,  and 
the  swelling  flood,  were  the  awe-inspiring  teach- 
ers of  a  heavenly  morality.  Nor  was  the  Church 
without  her  form,  as  well  as  her  existence.  The 
most  distinguished  theologian  of  the  age,  even 
the  "preacher  of  righteousness,"  was  there  at 
the  head  of  authority,  to  expound  the  mysteri 
ous  events  of  Providence,  and  to  dispense  the 
ordinances  of  redeeming  grace. 

No  sooner  had  the  exercises  of  the  ark  been 
concluded,  than  an  altar  was  erected,  on  which 
were  sacrificed  burnt-offerings,  at  once  expres- 
sive of  faith  in  the  atonement,  and  gratitude  for 
deliverance.  With  this  observance  is  connected 
the  restoration  of  man  to  dominion  over  the 
creatures  ;  and  from  this  point  in  human  history 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  181 

may  be  traced  a  second  time  the  rise  of  science 
and  art.  The  charter  of  privilege  forfeited  by 
Adam  was  renewed  to  Noah.  The  breadth, 
and  benefits  of  this  charter,  gave  a  mighty  im- 
pulse to  the  arts  and  sciences.  There  was  a 
grant  of  land,  co-extensive  with  that  which  was 
bestowed  upon  Adam.  "  God  blessed  Noah  and 
his  sons,  and  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful,  and 
multiply  and  replenish  the  earth."  There  was 
also  a  corresponding  grant  of  dominion  over  the 
irrational  creatures,  of  which  it  was  said,  "  Into 
your  hands  are  they  delivered  ; "  while  upon  each 
and  all  the  fear  of  man  was  impressed.  But 
they  were  delivered  into  his  hand,  not  only  to 
be  ruled,  but  to  be  used,  both  for  service  and 
sustenance.  "Every  moving  thing  that  liveth 
shall  be  meat  for  you,  even  as  the  green  herb 
have  I  given  you  all  things."  Here,  then,  is  the 
Divine  warrant  for  the  construction  of  machinery 
from,  and  for  the  general  use  of,  the  productions 
of  the  mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal  kingdoms. 
Consequently,  when  in  the  exercise  of  skill,  and 
by  the  aid  of  mechanical  inventions,  we  obtain 
from  the  earth  the  necessaries,  conveniences,  and 
luxuries  of  life — when  we  discover  the  hidden 
treasures  of  the  globe,  and  appropriate  them — 
when  we  abridge  distance,  by  quickening  the 
means  of  transit — when  we  use  material  ele- 
ments in  the  transmission  of  knowledge — when 


182  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

to  sum  up  all — we  go  to  this  threefold  kingdom 
and  discover  its  secrets — when  we  unfold  and 
appropriate  its  latent  powers — when  we  develop 
its  treasures,  and  distribute  them — when,  as 
commissioned  vicegerents,  we  take  our  seat 
upon  the  throne  of  nature,  and  rule  for  the 
glory  of  the  universal  Governor,  then  it  is  that 
genius  and  industry  perform  their  mighty  work, 
and  fulfil  their  original  destiny — then  it  is  that 
man  becomes  alive  to  the  extent  of  his  legitimate 
privileges,  and,  stimulated  by  the  exhaustless 
munificence  of  nature's  resources,  he  obeys,  by 
constraint  as  an  instrument,  or  willingly  as  a 
moral  agent,  the  primary  and  renewed  commis- 
sion, "  SUBDUE  THE  EARTH,  AND  HAVE  DOMINION 
OVER  IT." 

Thus  Noah,  on  leaving  the  ark,  with  this  re- 
newed commission,  "  began  to  be  an  husband- 
man, and  he  planted  a  vineyard."  This  was  the 
restoration  of  the  arts  of  industry — the  source 
from  which  .may  again  be  traced  the  rise  of 
mechanical  inventions.  Within  a  century  after 
the  flood,  the  arts  were  again  found  flourishing 
in  the  erection  of  munificent  cities,  and  the  sub- 
duing of  irrational  creatures.  "Nimrod  was  .a 
mighty  hunter  before  the  LORD."  But  he  was 
also  "  a  mighty  one  in  the  earth,"  founding  king- 
doms and  erecting  cities.  It  would  seem  as  if 
his  skill  in  hunting  and  in  building  had  given 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  183 

him  the  ascendency  over  his  fellow-men,  for  he 
is  represented  as  the  founder  of  monarchy. 
"  The  beginning  of  his  kingdom  was  Babel,  and 
Erech,  and  Accad,  and  Calneh,  in  the  land  of 
Shinar."  When  his  project,  to  rule  all  the  sons 
of  Noah  by  concentrating  one  universal  dynasty, 
was  blasted,  he  enriched  other  lands  by  his 
architectural  example.  To  the  genius  of  Ashur, 
another  great  builder,  Nineveh,  and  Rehoboth, 
and  Calah,  and  Kesen,  in  the  land  of  Assyria, 
owe  their  architectural  greatness  as  ancient 
cities.  Why  have  their  names  been  preserved 
in  connexion  with  their  founder  ?  Is  it  not  to 
show  the  progress  of  the  arts,  and  their  influence 
upon  the  formation  of  ancient  empires  ?  This, 
again,  is  a  part  of  the  Divine  plan  in  ruling  the 
human  family ;  consequently,  the  arts  take  their 
appointed  place  in  the  vast  and  comprehensive 
plans  of  Providence. 

The  erection  of  the  Tower  of  Babel  was  at 
once  a  record  of  mechanical  progress  in  the  post- 
diluvian world,  and  the  memorial  of  a  peculiar 
crisis  in  the  history  of  humanity.  In  that  build- 
ing there  was  an  extensive  exposition  of  the 
arts.  Brick,  prepared  from  clay  of  Shinar,  sub- 
stituted for  stone,  and  bituminous  pitch  for  mor- 
tar. The  plan  was  novel,  and  the  design  of  the 
tower  directly  opposed  to  the  command,  "  Mul- 
tiply, and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it ;" 


184       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

yet  for  a  season  the  work  prospered.  According 
to  tradition,  three  years  were  spent  in  prepara- 
tion of  materials,  and  twenty-two  in  building, 
ere  the  day  of  confounding  judgment  came. 
Mark  how  the  spirit  of  inspiration  records  the 
arrest  put  upon  this  display  of  human  genius  : 
"  The  LORD  came  down  to  see  the  city  and 
the  tower  which  the  children  of  men  builded." 
This  language  is  after  the  manner  of  men,  but 
the  design  is  to  teach  us  that  God  watches  over, 
and  takes  cognizance  of,  the  enterprizes  and 
operations  in  which  men  are  personally  and 
socially  engaged,  as  well  as  the  motives  and 
principles  by  which  they  are  actuated.  In  this 
notice  of  mechanical  progress,  there  is  no  con- 
demnation of  the  -postdiluvians  for  building  a 
city,  or  erecting  a  lofty  tower  ;  but  the  object  of 
both  was  to  concentrate  the  human  family  under 
one  dynasty,  to  foster  human  pride,  and  increase 
sovereign  power,  and  thus  to  frustrate  the  ex- 
pressed purpose  of  God  to  "  replenish  and  sub- 
due the  earth/'  "  Go  to,"  said  the  projectors  of 
this  enterprize,  "  let  us  build  us  a  city,  and  a 
tower  whose  top  may  reach  unto  heaven  ;  and 
let  us  make  us  a  name,  lest  we  be  scattered 
abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth."  "  Go 
to,"  says  the  moral  Governor,  "  let  us  go  down 
and  there  confound  their  language,  that  they 
may  not  understand  one  another's  speech.  So 


.  THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       185 

the  LORD  scattered  them  abroad  from  thence 
upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth."  The  evil  so 
much  dreaded  was  imaginary,  but  the  means  em- 
ployed to  prevent  it  hastened  its  approach.  If 
they  would  not,  as  moral  agents,  acknowledge 
the  Divine  authority,  they  must,  at  least,  as  in- 
struments, accomplish  His  purpose.  "  There  are 
many  devices  in  a  man's  heart,  nevertheless  the 
counsel  of  the  LORD,  that  shall  stand." 

In  the  history  of  Abraham  there  is  an  inci- 
dental record,  showing,  that  the  balance  had 
been  introduced,  with  a  view  to  commercial  in- 
tercourse. In  payment  of  the  field  of  Machpelah 
purchased  for  a  burying  place  from  the  Hittite, 
"  Abraham  weighed  to  Ephron  the  silver  .... 
four  hundred  shekels  of  silver,  current  money 
with  the  merchant."  Now,  God  distinctly  claims 
the  balances  as  His  own  in  the  book  of  Proverbs. 
"  A  just  weight  and  balance  are  the  LORD'S,  all 
the  weights  of  the  bag  are  His  work."  Were 
they  not  devised  and  formed,  and  adjusted  by 
human  skill  ?  As  the  products  of  human  genius, 
how  can  they  be  considered  as  the  LORD'S  work  ? 
Just  in  the  way  already  explained.  He  created 
the  materials  of  which  they  were  made.  He  im- 
planted the  skill  by  which  they  were  invented, 
formed,  and  adjusted  :  consequently  the  work  is 
His — though  made  subservient  to  the  purposes 
of  social  life  by  an  intermediate  agency — as 


186  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.   . 

really  as  though  they  had  been  the  products  of 
immediate  creation. 

While  God  thus  claims  individual  objects  and 
instruments,  there  are  general  statements  in  the 
Bible  designed  to  direct  all  our  inquiries  regard- 
ing inventions  to  the  same  source.  The  greatest 
achievements  of  human  genius  are  but  the  re- 
flection of  that  wisdom  which  is  infinite,  and 
that  power  which  is  almighty.  How  conclusive 
is  the  language  of  inspiration,  "  I  wisdom  dwell 
with  prudence,  and  find  out  knowledge  of  witty 
inventions."  Many  theologians  seem  to  think 
that  this  declaration  has  respect  to  the  work  of 
salvation  only.  It  is  usually  applied  to  Christ 
in  respect  to  that  knowledge  by  which  He  found 
out,  the  expedient  of  human  redemption.  "  Fallen 
men  have  sought  out  many  inventions  for 
their  own  ruin,  but  He  found  out  one  for  their 
recovery."  It  is  evident  that  Christ  is  the 
speaker  in  the  passage,  and  that  to  him  only  can 
belong  the  title  assumed,  and  the  language 
uttered.  But  we  apprehend  that  He  is  not  here 
speaking  directly  of  either  the  plan  propounded, 
or  the  means  employed  in  the  execution  of  re- 
demption work.  This  aspect  of  the  subject  is 
clearly  brought  out  in  the  closing  section  of  the 
chapter  ;  where  He  unfolds  His  appointment  as 
surety  from  everlasting,  and  His  own  "  delights 
as  with  the  sons  of  men."  But  in  the  section 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  187 

from  which  we  have  quoted,  the  subject  clearly 
is,  the  administration  of  the  Kingdom  of  Provi- 
dence in  which  He  represents  Himself,  as  the 
embodiment  of  wisdom  and  strength.  "Counsel 
is  Mine  and  sound  wisdom,  I  am  understanding  ; 
I  have  strength.  By  Me  kings  reign,  and  princes 
decree  justice.  By  Me  princes  rule,  and  nobles, 
even  all  the  judges  of  the  earth.  .  .  .  Kiches 
and  honor  are  with  Me  ;  yea,  durable  riches 

and  righteousness I  lead  in  the  way 

of  righteousness,  in  the  midst  of  the  paths  of 
judgment,  that  I  may  cause  those  that  love  Me 
to  inherit  substance  ;  and  I  will  fill  their  trea- 
sures." Thus,  the  dominion  of  Christ,  as  Medi- 
ator, appears  as  embracing  all  things  for  the 
good  of  His  Church.  By  the  fall,  man  lost  his 
original  wisdom,  as  well  as  his  original  dominion 
over  the  creatures.  The  grant  of  inanimate,  and 
animate  creation  for  his  use,  was  forfeited  by 
apostacy.  The  service  which  he  obtains  from 
the  creature  is  by  constraint ;  nay,  they  are  fre- 
quently turned  by  God  into  instruments  of  de- 
struction. But  the  original  grant  was  renewed 
to  Christ,  as  head  of  the  Church  for  her  benefit. 
This  appears  from  the  eighth  Psalm,  and  from 
the  grant  contained  in  it  being  applied  to  Christ 
by  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 
"  For  unto  the  angels  hath  He  not  put  in  subjec- 
tion the  world  to  come,  whereof  we  speak.  But 


188       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

one  in  a  certain  place  testified,  saying,  What  is 
man,  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  or  the  son 
of  man,  that  Thou  visitest  him  ?  Thou  madest 
him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels ;  Thou 
crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honor,  and  didst 
set  him  over  the  works  of  Thy  hands  :  Thou 
hast  put  all  things  in  subjection  under  His  feet. 
For  in  that  He  put  all  in  subjection  under  Him, 
he  left  nothing  that  is  not  put  under  Him.  But 
now  we  see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  Him ; 
but  we  see  Jesus  who  was  made  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of  death,  crown- 
ed with  glory  and  honor." 

The  Church  is  destined  to  embrace  the  world. 
Mechanical  inventions  have  had  a  vast  influence 
upon  the  Church,  and  are  designed  to  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  the  human  family  during  the 
period  of  millennial  glory.  If  the  creatures,  in- 
animate and  animate  are  given  to  Christ  for  the 
good  of  His  people,  it  is  evident  that  the  employ- 
ment of  these  creatures  must  be  directed  by  Di- 
vine wisdom.  Fallen  humanity  is  as  destitute 
of  the  knowledge  to  discover  their  use  as  it  is  of 
the  right  to  their  appropriation.  But  while  the 
right  is  restored  to  Christ,  as  universal  sove- 
reign, ruling  as  Mediator  over  all  things  for  the 
Church's  benefit,  the  knowledge  of  witty  inven- 
tions must  emanate  from  the  same  source.  Is 
not  this  the  import  of  the  passage  already 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  189 

quoted  ?  It  is  not  the  design  of  the  Bible  di- 
rectly to  solve  the  problems  of  science,  nor  to 
define  in  detail  the  works  of  art  destined  to  be 
brought  into  operation.  But  it  reveals  the  do- 
minion of  Christ  over  all  temporal  things,  and 
His  infinite  wisdom  as  developed  in  their  regula- 
tion. The  mental  powers,  assuming  the  aspect 
of  sagacity  or  prudence,  are  as  much  the  gift  of 
God  as  the  materials  upon  which  they  are  dis- 
played. But  it  is  wisdom  dwelling  with  them 
— controlling,  directing,  and  leading  them  on 
to  discovery  and  invention  that  must  be  recog- 
nized as  the  source  of  all  mechanical  phenomena. 
Will  any  believer  in  Bible  truth  be  prepared  to 
say  that  the  intellectual  powers — ordinary  or 
peculiar — are  not  emanations  from  the  fountain 
of  all  wisdom  ?  If  they  are  not  of  God,  then, 
whence  are  they  ?  Is  ther.e  any  other  source — 
celestial  or  terrestrial — to  which  they  can  be 
traced  ?  Are  they  self-created  ?  Do  they  ope- 
rate by  chance  ?  Keason  rejects  the  very 
supposition.  Kevelation  reveals  to  reason  the 
fountain  of  Divine  wisdom  as  the  primary 
source — 

"The  deep  shaft,  out  of  which  they  spring  eternally." 

"Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom, 
neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might, 
let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches  :  but 


190  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

let  him  that  glorieth  glory  in  this,  that  he 
understandeth  and  knoweth  me,  that  I  am  the 
LOKD."  As  He  makes  the  sun  to  rise  upon  the 
evil  and  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  upon  the 
just  and  the  unjust,  so  in  the  dispensations  of 
providence,  He  sheds  the  light  of  genius,  and 
bestows  the  power  of  invention  upon  whomsoever 
He  designs  to  employ  in  accomplishing  the  Di- 
vine purposes.  Nor  are  those  blessings  realized 
through  the  agency  of  man  less  the  gift  of  God 
than  though  they  had  come  through  the  ordinary 
course  of  nature. 

Nay,  we  would  venture  to  press  the  argument 
farther,  and  show  that  these  channels  of  Divine 
communication  are  more  wonderful  than  those 
opened  up  in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature.  In 
the  latter  case  we  have  inanimate  objects  acted 
upon  at  all  times,  in  all  circumstances,  and  in 
all  combinations  by  the  immediate  power  of 
Deity,  exercised  through  the  medium  of  certain 
constitutional  principles  ;  the  universal  experi- 
ence of  which  has  given  rise  to  the  term  natural 
laws.  But,  here,  there  is  no  mental  operation 
distinct  from  the  will  of  the  Divine  Author. 
The  mineral  kingdom  possesses  its  shining  ores, 
and  brilliant  pearls,  and  crystalline  diamonds. 
Incessant  changes  are  being  effected  among  all 
its  elements.  But  throughout  its  entire  regions, 
there  is  no  life,  nor  thought,  nor  mental  capa- 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.        191 

city.  Thus  it  is  also  in  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
The  flower  blooms,  and  emits  its  fragrance, 
while  utterly  unconscious  of  the  first  elements 
of  vegetable  life  or  beauty.  The  cedar  spreads 
its  majestic  arms  towards  the  heavens,  and  in  its 
season  yields  its  goodly  fruits,  but  of  its  own 
existence,  or  of  any  other,  there  is  no  conception. 
The  corn  of  wheat  falls  into  the  furrowed  grave, 
springs  into  the  blade,  and  the  full  ear,  for 
the  use  of  man  ;  but  it  reaches  not  the  lowest 
form  of  animal  life.  The  soil  awakens  its  latent 
germs,  the  dew  refreshes  its  earth-born  blade — 
the  winds  of  heaven  fan  it — the  rays  of  light 
nurse  it  ;  the  currents  of  electricity  stimulate  its 
growth,  but  like  itself,  they  are  each  and  all  des- 
titute of  physical  life  and  intellectual  capacity. 
These  are  constituted,  the  natural  sources  from 
which  animal  and  rational  life  is  sustained  ;  but 
how  limited  their  agency,  under  the  effects  of 
the  curse,  in  supplying  the  wants  of  the  human 
family  !  Stop  with  nature — reject  the  appliances 
of  art — leave  all  for  the  operation  of  these  agen- 
cies, and  the  world  will  soon  become  a  region  as 
destitute  of  human  life  as  that  on  which  God 
commanded  the  light  to  shine  forth  in  the  morn- 
ing of  creation ! 

But  here  the  God  of  providence  has  brought 
into  operation  another  class  of  agencies — the 
"  witty  inventions"  by  which  man  obtains  from 


192       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

the  field  of  nature  the  treasures  deposited  in  in- 
finite goodness.  By  the  aid  of  mechanical 
inventions  the  earth  is  subdued,  and  its  stores 
rendered  available  for  the  use  of  humanity.  It 
is  evident,  however  that  the  simplest  machine 
cannot  be  produced  without  a  reflecting  mind. 
The  reflecting  mind  cannot  be  produced  without 
the  creating  power  of  a  Being  at  once  the  foun- 
tain of  life,  and  possessing  the  attributes  of  in- 
finite wisdom.  Thus,  while  the  channels  in 
nature  are  opened  by  physical  causes,  the  powers 
of  appropriation  are  furnished  through  the  union 
of  a  physical  and  mental  agency.  In  the  one 
case,  God  operates  by  inanimate  objects,  in  the 
other,  by  living,  reasoning,  reflecting,  and  im- 
mortal beings.  To  work  by  natural  laws,  proves 
the  wisdom  and  power  of  God,  by  whom  these 
were  engraven  upon  material  elements.  Is  that 
power  less  apparent,  or  that  wisdom  less  conspic- 
uous, when  creating  a  mechanical  agency,  in- 
habited and  impelled  by  an  invisible  Spirit  ? 
Are  we  to  see  more  of  the  Divine  Author  in  the 
material  elements  of  the  world  of  matter,  than 
in  the  development  of  sentient  humanity  ?  Is 
it  consistent  with  reason  to  recognize  God  in 
the  process  of  nature  by  which  the  wheat  was 
prepared  for  food,  or  the  flax  for  clothing,  and 
to  reject  every  idea  of  God  in  connexion  with, 
the  human  inventions  by  which  these  were  ren- 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  193 

dered  available  for  our  sustenance  and  comfort  ? 
Will  we  acknowledge  the  Divine  hand  in  prepar- 
ing the  luxuries  of  the  eastern  clime,  and  yet 
reject  every  sense  of  His  relation  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  ship,  or  the  nautical  skill  by  which 
they  were  brought  to  our  sea-girt  island  ?  Shall 
we  recognize  God  in  the  gloomy  metal  dug  from 
the  deep  mine,  and  disown  Him  in  the  genius 
of  a  Watt  or  an  Arkwright  ?  Shall  we  behold 
the  symbols  of  this  power  in  the  stately  elms  of 
the  transept,  and  yet  look  upon  all  the  wonders 
of  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  forget  that  He  created 
a  Stevenson  and  a  Paxton  ?  Nay,  it  is  here  that 
we  are  invited  to  contemplate  a  fuller,  richer, 
and  more  glorious  display  of  the  wisdom,  power, 
and  goodness  of  God,  in  creating  man  with  such 
capabilities.  Though  fallen  from  his  pristine 
dignity  and  glory,  he  is  permitted  to  retain  his 
place  as  a  worker  together  with  God,  in  re- 
arranging and  re-distributing  nature's  riches,  in 
adaptation  to  human  necessities.  Have  we  not 
here  the  most  wonderful  display  of  the  Divine 
attributes — redemption  work  excepted — to  be 
found  in  our  globe  ?  The  material  clay  united 
to  the  pure  spirit,  and  thus  constituted  a  sentient 
being,  sent  forth  to  discover  the  vast  resources 
of  the  world,  and,  by  mechanical  inventions,  to 
appropriate  and  use  them. 

If  in  the  arts  of  industry  we  see  the  evidence 
9 


194       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

of  human  wisdom,  and  the  proofs  of  design,  how 
vast  is  the  field  of  contemplation,  when  viewing 
these,  not  only  as  types  of  mental  power,  separ- 
ated from  conceptions  of  the  Deity,  but  when 
we  see  the  human  body  and  the  human  mind, 
in  all  this  mechanical  and  intellectual  develop- 
ment ,  as  but  the  faint  types  of  that  mind  which 
contrived  the  universe,  and  made  the  earth,  in 
adaptation  to  man,  before  he  had  a  being. 
True  it  is,  that  the  eye  of  faith  which  looks 
to  heaven,  when  it  turns  again  to  natural  or  arti- 
ficial phenomena  on  earth,  seems  to  bring  down 
with  it  a  purer  radiance,  like  the  very  beaming 
of  the  presence  of  Divinity,  which  it  sheds  upon 
every  object.  The  mental  eye,  thus  illuminated, 
gazes  upon  every  subject  in  the  kingdom  of 
Providence,  encircled  in  a  halo  of  glory.  That 
is  the  true  philosophy  of  nature  which  leads  the 
mind  direct  to  the  fountain  of  causation,  and 
that  is  the  genuine  mental  philosophy  which 
traces  all  legitimate  knowledge  to  the  source  of 
infinite  wisdom.  This  philosophy  is  little  un- 
derstood, and  still  less  acknowledged,  in  the  past 
history  of  human  progression.  But  being  a 
philosophy  pervading  all  nature,  the  grace  of 
God  shall  yet  quicken  it  into  universal  life  and 
power  in  the  human  mind.  Let  men  but  come 
within  the  "  shadow  of  the  Almighty,"  realizing 
on  every  side  a  present  Deity,  and  then  nature, 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       195 

providence,  and  grace,  will  be  found  in  close  con- 
nexion and  absolute  harmony.  The  lofty  strains 
of  poetic  inspiration,  as  breathed  by  Cowper, 
shall  become  a  reality  in  the  e very-day  experi- 
ence of  man. 

"  One  spirit  His, 

Who  wore  the  plaited  crown  with  bleeding  brow, 
Rules  universal  nature — 
The  soul  that  sees  Him,  or  receives,  sublimed, 
New  faculties,  or  learns  at  least  to  employ 
More  worthily  the  powers  she  owned  before ; 
Discerns  in  all  things,  what  with  stupid  gaze 
Of  ignorance  till  then  she  overlooked. 
A  ray  of  heavenly  light  gilding  all  forms 
Terrestrial,  in  the  vast  and  the  minute; 
The  unambiguous  footsteps  of  the  God 
Who  gives  its  lustre  to  an  insect's  wing, 
And  wheels  his  throne  upon  the  rolling  worlds." 


CHAPTER    V. 


THE    INSPIRATION  OP   GENIUS   AN   EVIDENCE   THAT  MECHANICAL 
INVENTIONS    ABE    OF  GOD. 


THE  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  generally 
considered  in  its  relations  to  the  moral  world, 
and  its  immediate  operations  upon  the  soul  in 
regeneration  and  sanctification.  Many,  while 
contending  for  the  personality  and  divinity  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  seem  strangely  to  overlook  His 
modes  of  operation  in  the  Church  and  the  world, 
prior  to  the  advent  of  the  Son  of  God.  The 
language  used  by  many  divines  arid  expositors, 
in  expounding  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures, 
seems  to  accord  with  the  reply  of  certain  dis- 
ciples whom  Paul  interrogated  regarding  their 
experience  of  the  Spirit's  influence  :  "  We  have 
not  so  much  as  heard  whether  there  be  any 
Holy  Ghost/'  It  is  true  that  the  New  Testa- 
ment economy  is  peculiarly  the  dispensation  of 
the  Spirit.  To  the  Christian  Church  He  was 
promised  as  the  "  Spirit  of  truth,"  to  testify  of 
Jesus,  and  as  "  the  Comforter,"  to  impart  con- 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       197 

solation.  Upon  the  primitive  Church  he  was 
poured  out  in  a  copious  measure.  In  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel  He  is  exhibited  as  applying 
the  benefits  of  that  redemption  which  Christ  has 
purchased.  In  consequence  of  this  fuller  revela- 
tion regarding  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  and  espe- 
cially in  consequence  of  the  tendency  of  modern 
divines  to  dwell  chiefly  upon  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  to  treat  the  Old  as  if  it  were  a 
piece  of  antiquated  history,  the  agency  of  the 
Spirit,  in  all  that  preceded  the  Christian  era,  is 
comparatively  forgotten.  But  both  Testaments 
form  only  one  Bible,  regarding  the  revelation  of 
the  Divine  will  contained  in  which  it  is  declared, 
that  "  all  Scripture  is  given  by  the  inspiration 
of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof, 
for  correction,  for  instruction,  in  righteousness." 
Both  Testaments  are  replete  with  doctrinal 
statements  and  historic  records  regarding  the 
operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  the  old  crea- 
tion, and  in  the  new,  He  occupies  a  place  per- 
sonal and  peculiar.  The  works  of  God  are 
either  natural  or  gracious.  To  both  the  Spirit 
stands  in  close  relation.  The  opening  sentence 
of  the  Bible,  recording  the  act  of  creation,  is 
succeeded  by  one  recording  the  operation  of  the 
Spirit.  "  The  earth  was  without  form,  and  void  ; 
and  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep : 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of 


198  THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS. 

the  waters."  The  whole  matter  being  created, 
out  of  which  the  globe  should  be  fashioned,  and 
from  which  all  living  creatures  were  soon  to  be 
educed,  He  assumed  its  preservation,  and  cherish- 
ed its  elements,  that,  having  its  subsistence  by 
the  power  of  the  Word  of  God,  so  it  might  be  re- 
duced to  that  form,  order,  and  beauty,  predeter- 
mined in  the  eternal  counsels.  It  seems,  from 
the  form  of  expression  employed,  that  He  com- 
municated unto  the  elements  of  the  globe  a 
quickening  and  prolific  virtue  by  which,  at  the 
command  of  God,  vegetable  and  animal  life,  in 
every  varied  form,  sprung  into  existence.  This 
agency,  which  was  ascribed  to  the  Spirit,  in  the 
act  of  creation,  is  still  ascribed  to  Him  in  the 
continued  dispensation  of  Providence.  Thus, 
while  the  Psalmist  represents  the  decay  of 
nature  by  death,  the  revival  of  nature  is  attri- 
buted to  the  Spirit's  influence.  "  Thou  sendest 
forth  Thy  Spirit,  they  are  created  ;  and  Thou  re- 
newest  the  face  of  the  earth." 

In  the  creation  of  man  there  was  a  twofold 
operation — the  forming  of  the  body,  and  the  in- 
spiration of  the  soul.  "  The  Lord  God  formed 
man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed 
into  ^his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  man  be- 
came a  living  soul."  In  this  act  of  the  Spirit, 
there  is  the  introduction  of  the  moral  principle, 
in  relation  to  a  world  which  had  previously  been 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  199 

a  chaos,  destitute  of  light  and  life.  There  was 
here  evolved  a  physical  good,  and  a  moral  good 
— a  world  fitted  and  furnished  for  the  habitation 
of  a  rational  being,  and  that  being  constituted 
so  as  to  stand  in  close  connexion  with  that  physi- 
cal world  ;  nay,  more,  to  unite  in  his  person 
mind  and  matter.  Man  forms  the  connecting 
link  between  the  irrational  creatures  and  holy 
angels.  He  was  formed  of  the  dust  physically,  and 
made  in  the  image  of  God  spiritually.  At  this 
stage  of  human  history  there  were  unfolded  two 
aspects  of  the  Divine  government — a  moral 
good,  having  respect  to  man,  and  a  physical 
good,  having  respect  to  the  world  in  its  future 
history,  as  made  subservient  to  his  interests.  To 
both  these  aspects  of  the  Divine  government  the 
Spirit  is  closely  allied,  and  in  both  the  Bible 
represents  Him  as  the  permanent  operator.  The 
physical  world  is  so  constituted  as  to  minister 
to  the  moral,  consequently,  the  events  of  Pro- 
vidence must  ever  have  produced  their  influence 
upon  the  character  of  man.  Thus,  while  the 
Spirit  has  a  special  and  peculiar  operation  in 
forming  and  endowing  this  moral  agent,  man 
is  constituted  a  permanent  physical  operator,  by 
which  the  world,  in  its  elements  and  creatures, 
is  made  subservient  to  the  interests  and  happi- 
ness of  the  human  family. 

The  fall  of  Adam,  by  transgression,  produced 


200       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

a  moral  chaos  in  the  soul  of  man,  which  was 
accompanied  by  a  shock  of  judgment  that  reach- 
ed not  only  his  corporeal  system,  but  produced  a 
revolution  throughout  the  entire  physical  system 
of  that  world  and  its  creatures,  over  which  he 
had  obtained  dominion.  The  earth  and  its  in- 
habitants, under  the  curse,  appear  in  a  state  of 
universal  schism.  The  lord  of  creation,  having 
lost  the  centre  of  moral  attraction  by  turning  to 
the  creature,  has  also  lost  the  sceptre  of  moral 
power,  and  dominion.  The  creatures — the  very 
elements  of  nature,  are  armed  against  the  rebel 
king.  The  "  creation  groaning  "  proclaims  hu- 
man guilt,  and  if  unrestrained,  would  execute 
the  vengeance  of  God  upon  its  author. 

But  here  again,  the  Spirit  of  God  is  revealed 
in  Scripture  as  engaged  in  a  twofold  operation. 
That  which  has  respect  to  nature,  and  that 
which  has  respect  to  grace.  The  world  itself  is 
not  abandoned,  though  man  has  fallen.  The 
same  Spirit  that  operates  in  the  plan  and  appli- 
cation of  redemption  is  incessantly  operating  in 
the  physical  world,  and  its  inhabitants,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  the  Divine  purposes.  That 
Holy  Spirit  who  is  restoring  to  order,  the  moral 
chaos  in  the  renewed  soul,  is  also  restoring  to 
order  the  universal  chaos  of  this  revolted  region 
inhabited  by  man.  In  the  one  department 
spiritual  means  are  universally  employed.  In 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       201 

the  other,  physical  and  mental  instrumentality 
are  brought  into  operation.  In  the  work  of  re- 
demption the  Son  of  God  was  the  mighty  agent. 
In  the  restoration  of  nature's  harmony,  the  sons 
of  men  are  employed  as  instruments.  In  the 
assumption  of  our  nature  by  incarnation,  the 
holy  humanity  of  Christ  was  formed,  and  filled 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  without  measure.  In  the 
creation  of  successive  generations,  the  constitu- 
tion of  man,  physical  and  mental,  is  formed, 
and  endowed  with  intellectual  gifts  by  the  Spirit 
of  infinite  wisdom.  "  There  is  a  spirit  in  man  ; 
and  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth  him 
understanding." 

It  seems  clear,  in  the  light  of  Scripture,  that 
there  is  nothing  excellent  amongst  men,  whether 
absolutely  above  the  production  of  natural  prin- 
ciples, or  whether  it  consists  in  a  peculiar  en- 
largement, and  improvement  of  those  principles 
and  abilities,  that  is  not  ascribed  to  the  agency 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  immediate  operator, 
and  efficient  cause  of  its  production.  That 
which  results  from  the  common  operations  of  the 
Spirit,  however  extraordinary  in  degree,  is  en- 
tirely distinct  from  those  influences  which  are 
gracious  and  saving.  Thus,  a  man  may  be  em- 
ployed in  distinguished  service  as  an  instrument 
while  he  is  absolutely  guilty  as  a  person  or  moral 
agent. 

9* 


202  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

In  regard  to  those  gifts  which  are  altogether 
extraordinary,  and  in  their  very  nature  abso- 
lutely beyond  the  limits  of  man's  mental  consti- 
tution, however  highly  improved,  it  may  be  ob- 
served that  these  have  a  direct  and  immedi- 
ate bearing  upon  the  development  of  the  plan  of 
salvation.  The  gift  of  prophecy  lies  beyond  the 
compass  of  man's  finite  nature.  But  "Holy 
men  of  old  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Spirit."  The  writing  of  the  Scriptures 
falls  within  the  same  category.  Many  prophe- 
sied who  never  wrote,  for  "  all  Scripture  is  given 
by  the  inspiration  of  God/'  The  power  of  work- 
ing miracles  was  realized  from  the  same  source. 
Even  the  Redeemer  of  men,  gave  these  as  the 
seal  of  heaven,  attesting  His  doctrine.  "If  I, 
by  the  finger  of  God,  cast  out  devils,  no  doubt 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  upon  you."  Such 
were  all  the  signs  and  wonders  wrought  by 
Moses,  by  the  prophets,  and  by  the  apostles,  for 
these  were  exhibited  as  pledges  and  tokens  of 
the  Spirit's  presence,  by  whom  their  message 
was  communicated,  and  their  miraculous  power 
imparted.  In  the  earliest  record  of  supernatural 
power  as  bestowed  upon  Moses,  the  very  magi- 
cians of  Egypt  were  constrained  to  admit  the 
reality  of  that  power,  and  to  acknowledge  the 
source  from  which  it  was  derived.  "  The  ma- 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       203 

gicians  said  unto  Pharaoh,  This  is  the  finger  of 
God." 

But  there  is  a  second  class  of  the  Spirit's  in- 
fluences and  operations  which  consist  in  the  ex- 
pansion and  exaltation  of  those  mental  and 
physical  powers  which  are  common  to  hu- 
manity. 

INSPIRATION   OF   GENIUS   FOE  LEGISLATION   AND 
GOVERNMENT. 

The  special  influence  of  the  Spirit  in  prepar- 
ing men  for  legislative  and  political  administra- 
tion is  minutely  recorded.  The  glory  of  God, 
and  the  good  of  mankind,  were  deeply  involved 
in  the  institution  of  civil  government.  Desti- 
tute of  this  ordinance,  the  whole  world  would  be 
filled  with  violence,  and  the  human  family  would 
soon  be  thrown  into  inextricable  confusion.  In 
the  establishment  and  exercise  of  judicial  au- 
thority, the  best  gifts  require  to  be  improved,  and 
even  the  best  of  ordinary  gifts  are  found  insuf- 
ficient to  restore  order  out  of  political  chaos. 
Thus,  when  the  God  of  infinite  wisdom  would 
organize  a  model  nation  out  of  the  rude  ele- 
ments of  a  long  enslaved  people,  the  Holy  Ghost 
inspired  Moses  with  wisdom  and  courage  to 
conduct  their  emancipation  from  Egypt,  and  to 
initiate  them  in  the  elementary  principles  of 
political  economy.  In  the  first  institution  of  the 


204       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

Sanhedrim,  or  court  of  seventy  elders,  to  bear  in 
conjunction  with  Moses  the  burden  of  the 
people,  in  their  rule  and  government,  the  Lord 
is  said  to  "  put  His  Spirit  upon  them,"  and  again 
it  is  said,  that  the  "  Spirit  rested  upon  them." 
"  And  the  LORD  said  unto  Moses,  Gather  unto 
me  seventy  men  of  the  elders  of  Israel,  whom 
thou  knowest  to  be  the  elders  of  the  people,  and 
officers  over  them.  .  .  .  And  I  will  take  of 
My  Spirit  which  is  upon  thee,  and  will  put  it 
upon  them  ;  and  they  shall  bear  the  burden  of 
the  people  with  thee.  .  .  .  And  the  LORD 
took  of  the  Spirit  that  was  upon  Moses,  and  gave 
it  unto  the  seventy  elders,  and  the  Spirit  rested 
upon  them."  Previous  to  this  appointment,  the 
spiritual  influence  was  concentrated  in  Moses  as 
the  sole  ruler  of  the  people,  whereas  now,  that 
the  government  was  divided  among  a  number 
of  individuals,  it  was  requisite  that  each  should 
be  duly  qualified,  and  furnish  some  evidence 
that  he  was  commissioned  by  Divine  autho- 
rity, hence  it  is  said  that,  "  when  the  Spirit 
rested  upon  them,  they  prophesied,  and  did  not 
cease."* 

Again,  when  God  organized  a  limited  mon- 
archy in  room  of  the  Sanhedrim,  and  of  the 
judges,  there  was  a  special  communication  of 
the  Spirit  to  him  who  was  chosen  as  the  first 

*  Numbers,  xL 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       205 

sovereign.  Regarding  Saul,  it  is  said,  that 
"  God  gave  him  another  heart  ;  that  is,  as  after- 
wards expressed,  "  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon 
him,  and  he  prophesied."  He  was,  by  the  special 
influence  of  the  Spirit,  endowed  with  that  wis- 
dom, and  energy,  and  magnanimity,  which  were 
essential  to  the  proper  exercise  of  magisterial 
authority.  The  anointing  with  oil  at  the  in- 
auguration ceremony,  when  the  kings  of  Israel 
were  set  apart  to  public  office,  was  a  symbol  of 
the  communication  of  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  So  great  is  the  burden  of  responsibility 
under  which  a  just  and  righteous  government  is 
laid  —  so  numerous  are  the  temptations  to  which 
the  exercise  of  authority  gives  rise,  that  even 
the  best  of  men  without  the  special  assistance 
of  the  Spirit,  will  be  found  ready  to  sink  under 
its  weight,  or  to  mismanage  its  administration. 
This  sense  of  responsibility  and  human  incapa- 
city overwhelmed  the  spirit  of  Solomon,  though 
trained  by  circumstances,  in  the  family  and 
court  of  David,  to  the  exercise  of  legislative  and 
judicial  functions.  Consequently,  when  he  had 
the  Divine  grant  of  whatsoever  he  should  ask, 
the  right  discharge  of  official  duty  lay  nearest 
his  heart,  hence  the  petition  for  wisdom  —  "  I  am 
but  a  little  child  :  I  know  not  how  to  go  out  or 
come  in.  And  Thy  servant  is  in  the  midst  of 
Thy  people  which  Thou  hast  chosen,  a  great 


<<*,. 


206  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

people,  that  cannot  be  numbered  nor  counted 
for  multitude.  Give,  therefore,  Thy  servant  an 
understanding  heart  to  judge  Thy  people,  that  I 
may  discern  between  good  and  bad  :  for  who  is 
able  to  judge  this  Thy  so  great  a  people  ?"  In 
answer  to  this  petition,  the  Divine  response  is 
most  significant — "  The  speech  pleased  the  LORD 
that  Solomon  had  asked  this  thing.  And  God 
said  unto  him,  Because  thou  hast  asked  this 
thing,  and  hast  not  asked  for  thyself  long  life  ; 
neither  hast  asked  riches  for  thyself ;  neither 
hast  asked  the  life  of  thine  enemies  ;  but  hast 
asked  for  thyself  understanding  to  discern  judg- 
ment ;  Behold,  I  have  done  according  to  thy 
words  ;  So,  I  have  given  thee  a  wise  and  an  un- 
derstanding heart,  so  that  there  was  none  like 
thee  before  thee,  neither  after  thee  shall  any 
arise  like  unto  thee."  We  shall  have  occasion 
afterwards  to  consider  how  this  communication 
of  wisdom  and  understanding  displayed  itself  in 
science,  and  art,  and  literature,  as  well  as  in 
government. 

These  special  gifts  were  not  confined  within 
the  limits  of  the  Church.  In  the  case  of  one 
heathen  monarch,  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit 
is  recorded,  as  preparing  him  for  the  special 
work  to  which  God  had  appointed  him.  Cyrus 
was  chosen  by  name,  and  in  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah,  God  calls  him  His  "  anointed,"  for  Cyrus 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       207 

had  a  special  work  to  accomplish,  for  which  he 
needed  special  qualifications.  The  work  in  one 
aspect,  had  relation  to  human  history — for  he 
was  made  the  executioner  of  Divine  justice  upon 
Babylon — while  on  the  other  hand  it  was  closely 
allied  to  the  Church — for  he  was  the  appointed 
instrument  to  deliver  the  captive  Israelites. 
Though  he  was  in  himself  but  a  "  ravenous  bird 
of  prey,"  he  was  especially  endowed  as  an  instru- 
ment to  effect  the  purposes  of  God.  "  Thus  saith 
the  LORD  to  His  anointed,  to  Cyrus,  whose  right 
hand  I  have  holden  to  subdue  nations  before 
him,  and  I  will  loose  the  loins  of  kings  to  open 

before  him  the  two-leaved  gates For 

Jacob,  My  servant's  sake,  and  Israel  Mine  elect, 
I  have  even  called  thee  by  thy  name  ;  I  have 
surnamed  thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known  Me. 

I  girded  thee  though  thou  hast  not 

known  Me."*  Thus,  the  administration  of  Cyrus 
had  special  reference  to  the  Church,  though  he 
was  not  within  her  pale,  and  though  he  knew 
not  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  "  The  LORD  stirred 
up  the  spirit  of  Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  that  he 
made  a  proclamation  throughout  all  his  king- 
dom, and  put  it  in  writing,  saying,  Thus  saith 
Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  All  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth  hath  the  LORD  God  of  heaven  given  me, 
and  He  hath  charged  me  to  build  him  an  house 

*  Isaiah,  xlv.  1-5. 


208  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

in  Jerusalem  which  is  in  Judah ;  who  is  there 
among  you  of  all  His  people  ?  The  LORD  his 
God  be  with  him,  and  let  him  go  up."*  Thus 
Cyrus  was  divinely  qualified  as  an  instrument, 
though  in  a  state  of  condemnation  as  a  person, 
and  thus  we  apprehend  that  many  distinguished 
conquerors,  and  renowned  deliverers  have  re- 
ceived special  inspiration  though  unsconscious  ot 
the  fact,  and  though  considering  themselves  as 
the  source  of  that  wisdom  and  ability  in  the 
exercise  of  which  they  had  conquered  nations, 
and  reigned  in  earthly  glory.  Nay,  more,  seeing 
that  the  affairs  of  the  world  are  regulated  with 
a  special  view  to  the  Church,  and  that  Christ  is 
constituted  head  over  all  "principalities  and 
powers"  for  her  benefit :  and  seeing  that  the  rise 
and  fall  of  nations  is  preparing  the  way  for  the 
full  establishment  of  His  visible  kingdom,  is  it 
not  evident  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  from  age 
to  age  endowing  special  instruments  for  special 
work,  as  really  as  He  did  Cyrus  for  the  infliction 
of  judgment  upon  Babylon,  and  the  administra- 
tion of  mercy  to  the  captive  Israelites  ?  Alas  ! 
that  in  the  infidelity  of  our  hearts,  we  are  so 
prone  to  contemplate  the  most  distinguished 
talents  as  if  they  had  sprung  of  earth,  and  to 
view  their  application  in  relation  to  the  creature 
only  ;  whereas,  by  these  recorded  examples,  the 

*  Ezra,  i.  1,  2. 


THEOLOGk'  OF  INVENTIONS.       209 

human  mind  is  taught  to  recognize  the  gifts  of 
the  Spirit,  and  to  adore  that  God  who  reigns  as 
moral  Governor,  and  who  makes  even  the  wrath 
of  man  to  praise  him  ! 

INSPIRATION    OF   GENIUS  FOR   WAR. 

The  existence  of  war  is  demonstrative  evi- 
dence that  man  is  fallen.  In  itself  it  is  evil, 
only  evil,  and  that  continually.  But  in  the  moral 
government  of  God,  it  is  at  times  as  necessary 
as  the  existence  of  civil  government.  Civil  ma- 
gistracy being  "  an  ordinance  of  God,"  the  gird- 
ing on  the  sword  is  as  necessary,  in  peculiar 
circumstances,  as  the  wielding  of  the  sceptre 
The  Bible  bears  testimony  to  the  connexion  of 
the  Spirit's  influence  with  special  warriors  and 
special  victories.  "  Blessed  be  the  LORD  my 
strength,"  says  David,  "which  teacheth  my 
hands  to  war,  and  my  fingers  to  fight."  There 
seems  not  a  shadow  of  doubt  that  the  moral 
courage  wherewith  he  met  the  Philistine  was 
an  inspiration  from  on  high.  The  names  of 
David's  chief  warriors,  to  the  amount  of  thirty- 
seven,  are  given  in  the  sacred  volume,  not  we 
presume,  because  of  their  delight  in  war,  or  of 
their  deeds  of  martial  prowess,  but  because  they 
were  endowed  by  the  Spirit  with  extraordinary 
strength  and  valor  to  execute  vengeance  upon 
the  enemies  of  Israel.  What  is  said  of  one  of 


210       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

these,  regarding  the  slaughter  of  the  Philistines, 
is  in  fact  true  of  all.  They  conquered,  but  it  was 
"  the  Lord  who  wrought  a  great  victory."  But 
there  is  no  room  for  conjecture  or  inference  re- 
garding inspiration  of  genius  for  war,  when  the 
sacred  volume  explicitly  reveals  the  doctrine. 
Of  such  men  as  Othniel,  and  Gideon,  and 
Jephtha  and  Samson,  it  is  said,  "the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  came  upon  them/'  Of  Othniel  the 
record  is,  that  "  the  Spirit  of  the  LORD  came 
upon  him  ;  and  he  judged  Israel  and  went  out  to 
war."  Of  "  Gideon  and  Jephtha,  it  is  intima- 
ted previously,  that  they  were  men  of  valor/' 
consequently,  the  coming  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
upon  them  must  imply  that  their  natural  gifts 
are  peculiarly  enlarged,  and  their  natural  courage 
excited  and  sustained  amidst  the  dangers  to 
which  they  were  exposed,  in  the  field  of  conflict. 
Besides,  it  seems  evident  that  they  experienced 
an  efficacious  impression  of  His  power  upon  them, 
by  which  their  call  to  the  work  was  confirmed, 
and  the  confidence  of  those  whom  they  led  to 
victory  stimulated  by  the  conviction  that  God 
was  with  them.  The  degree  of  influence  seems 
at  times  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  danger  and 
difficulty  of  the  work  to  be  accomplished.  Such 
were  the  gifts  bestowed  upon  Samson.  His 
bodily  strength  was  supernatural — an  immediate 
effect  of  the  power  of  the  Spirit — while  his  mind 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  211 

was  endowed  with  courage  unknown  to  the 
human  species.  In  the  record  of  his  victory 
over  the  lion,  which  "  he  rent  as  he  would  have 
rent  a  kid"  without  a  weapon  in  his  hand,  it  is 
said  that,  "the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  mightily 
upon  him."  When  he  went  down  to  Askelon 
and  slew  thirty  men  that  he  might  obtain  their 
changes  of  garments,  the  influence  imparted  is 
expressed  in  less  emphatic  language.  Like  that, 
which  has  been  noticed  in  the  case  of  the  dis- 
tinguished judges  who  went  out  and  conquered 
at  the  head  of  their  respective  armies,  it  is  said, 
"  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon  him."  But, 
when  the  Philistines  shouted  against  him,  as 
bound  at  Lehi,  "the  Spirit  of  the  LORD  came 
mightily  upon  him,"  so  that  "  the  cords  became 
as  flax  burnt  with  the  fire,"  and  one  thousand  of 
the  enemies  of  Israel  fell  by  his  hand,  smitten 
"with  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass."  Is  there  not 
here  evolved  the  fact,  that  the  measure  of  influ- 
ence is  granted,  in  accordance  with  the  difficulty 
and  magnitude  of  the  work  to  be  done,  or  the 
deliverance  to  be  achieved  ?  Can  we  possibly — 
with  these  examples  Divinely  recorded — read 
the  pages  of  human  history,  and  not  recognize 
the  inspiration  of  that  patriotism  and  philan- 
thropy, which  have  led  the  most  distinguished 
victors  to  risk  their  lives  in  defence  of  the  rights 
of  humanity  and  the  liberty  of  nations  ? 


212  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

' 

INSPIRATION   OF   GENIUS,  MECHANICAL   OB 
SCIENTIFIC. 

This  species  of  inspiration  belongs  to  the  same 
category  as  that  which  is  unfolded  in  legislation 
and  warfare.  To  this  inspiration  the  whole 
development  of  artificial  phenomena  may  be 
traced.  The  care  with  which  Providence 
watches  over,  and  the  particularity  with  which 
the  Spirit  has  recorded  some  of  the  earlier  inven- 
tions, has  been  already  noticed.  The  object 
now  is,  to  prove  directly  the  communication  of 
intellectual  gifts  by  the  Spirit,  to  be  exercised 
about  physical  elements,  and  to  be  embodied  in 
mechanical  inventions. 

THE  TABERNACLE. 

The  construction  of  the  Tabernacle  is  at  once 
a  proof  and  illustration  of  the  inspiration  of 
mechanical  genius.  God  Himself  is  represented 
as  the  Divine  Architect.  He  contrived  the 
mysterious  plan,  furnished  the  materials,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  His  people,  raised  up  the 
artificers  in  the  dispensations  of  His  providence, 
and  qualified  them  for  their  work  by  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  Spirit.  The  command  to  make  a 
sanctuary  is  accompanied  by  a  description  of  all 
its  parts.  "And  the  LORD  spake  unto  Moses, 
saying,  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel  that 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  213 

they  bring  Me  an  offering  :  and  let  them  make 
Me  a  scantuary,  that  I  may  dwell  among  them. 
According  to  all  that  I  shew  thee,  after  the  pat- 
tern of  the  tabernacle',  and  the  patterns  of  all 
the  instruments  thereof,  even  so  shall  ye  make 
it."  It  appears  from  the  sequel  that  the  entire 
plan  was  Divinely  propounded.  Not  merely  the 
dimensions  of  the  fabric,  as  formerly  in  the 
building  of  the  ark,  but  every  part  was  described 
in  its  relative  proportions  and  special  aspect. 
The  curtains,  the  hangings,  the  loops,  the  taches, 
the  pins,  and  the  sockets,  the  ornamental  work, 
and  the  curious  furniture,  were  each  and  all  spe- 
cially described.  Every  object  and  element, 
from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  was  modelled  in 
the  Eternal  Mind,  and  presented  to  the  concep- 
tion of  Moses  upon  the  mount,  with  the  most 
explicit  nota  bene.  "  Look  that  thou  make  them 
after  their  pattern,  which  was  shewed  thee  in 
the  mount  ;"  or  still  more  emphatic,  as  found  in 
the  marginal  reading,  "  according  to  the  pattern 
which  I  caused  thee  to  see."  In  this  contract 
there  was  nothing  left  for  the  exercise  of  human 
ingenuity,  as  respects  the  plan.  The  perfection 
of  infinite  wisdom  could  admit  of  no  interfer- 
ence. But  while  the  design  was  absolutely  per- 
fect, the  skill  to  fill  it  up  was  not  to  be  found  in 
the  concentrated  wisdom  of  the  human  family, 
and  much  less  among  those  who  had  been 


214  THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS. 

trained   from  infancy  under  the  yoke  of  abject 
slavery. 

The  whole  plan  was  original,  nay,  Divine. 
No  earthly  model  could  be  examined,  no  pre- 
vious experience  could  be  consulted.  To  God 
the  Hebrews  must  look  for  all  that  pertained  to 
this  itinerant  sanctuary.  There  is  something 
very  peculiar  and  instructive  in  the  fact  that 
God  who  "  stretched  out  the  heavens  like  a  cur- 
tain, and  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth," 
should  now,  in  the  wilderness,  sketch,  and  plan, 
and  preside  over,  and  at  length  fill  with  His 
glory,  an  artificial  tent,  constructed  and  furnished 
by  human  hands.  Does  not  the  fact  imply  that 
He  is  the  God  of  order  and  beauty  in  the  mecha- 
nical as  well  as  in  the  natural  world  ?  By  the 
fall,  the  lines  of  beauty  and  proportion  had  been 
obscured  or  obliterated  in  the  darkened  under- 
standing. By  the  flood,  the  physical  world  was 
despoiled  of  its  pristine  glory.  But  here  the 
God  of  grace  evolves  in  symbol  the  highest  glory 
of  the  moral  world — Christ  the  true  Tabernacle 
— while  the  symbol  itself  seems  designed  to  ex- 
hibit the  adaptation  of  material  elements  to 
mechanical  purposes,  and  to  restore,  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner,  the  primitive  ideas  of  the  beautiful 
and  true.  In  the  day  that  Adam  sinned,  that 
wisdom  with  which  he  was  endowed  returned  to 
God  who  gave  it,  but  in  the  economy  of  redemp- 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  215 

tion  there  seems  to  be  a  restoration  in  measure 
of  that  practical  skill  or  genius  by  which  the 
subjection  of  the  creature  to  man  shall  be  duly 
regulated.  In  the  case  of  the  Israelites,  there  was 
the  organization  of  a  Church,  and  of  a  state,  des- 
tined to  extend  over  centuries,  and  impart  in- 
fluences to  the  world  through  coming  ages. 
The  whole  training  of  the  wilderness  has  a  rela- 
tion to  their  future  greatness  nationally,  as  well 
as  to  their  present  instruction  in  spiritual 
knowledge,  consequently  their  arts  and  sciences, 
their  martial  enterprizes,  and  their  civil  consti- 
tution, are  all  evolved  in  connexion  with  that 
revealed  religion  which  recognizes  every  blessing 
as  emanating  from,  and  conducive  to,  the  glory 
of  the  moral  Governor. 

Considered  in  this  light,  the  erection  of  the 
Tabernacle  is  peculiarly  instructive.  The  Cre- 
ator of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  condescends 
to  become  the  teacher  of  degenerate  man,  in 
common  as  well  as  in  spiritual  things.  While 
the  revelation  of  the  Covenant  occupies  the  first 
place,  the  dispensations  of  Providence  regarding 
the  condition  of  man  in  the  present  world  are 
not  overlooked  nor  forgotten.  That  God  who 
reigns  over  universal  nature  deigns  to  direct,  in 
the  spreading  out  of  badgers'  skins,  the  binding 
of  curtains,  the  planting  of  a  beam,  the  fitting 
of  a  socket,  the  insertion  of  a  pin,  so  that  the 


216       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

perfection  of  natural  beauty  might  be  displayed, 
while  the  radiance  of  Divine  glory  was  lumin- 
ously reflected. 

EXPOSITION  OF  THE  ARTS  IN   CONSTRUCTING   THE 
TABERNACLE. 

The  Tabernacle  was  in  itself  a  most  compre- 
hensive exposition  of  the  arts.  There  was  the 
hewing,  sawing,  plaining,  joining,  carving,  and 
gilding  of  wood.  There  was  the  melting,  casting, 
beating,  boring,  and  engraving  of  metals.  There- 
was  the  spinning,  weaving,  dyeing,  bleaching, 
sewing,  and  embroidering  of  fabrics.  There 
was  also  the  tanning  and  coloring  of  skins. 
There  was  work  in  gold,  and  in  silver,  and  in 
brass,  in  blue,  and  in  purple,  and  in  scarlet,  and 
in  fine  linen,  and  in  goats'  hair.  There  was 
work  in  the  preparation  of  oil  for  the  light,  and 
spices  for  anointing  oil,  and  for  sweet  incense. 
There  was  work  for  the  lapidary  in  polishing 
stones,  and  for  the  sculptor  in  their  engraving. 
But  it  is  impossible  to  enumerate  all  the  profes- 
sions introduced  in  this  Divinely-planned  edi- 
fice. They  are  best  described  by  the  Spirit, 
when  speaking  of  the  qualifications  of  those 
called  to  the  filling  up  of  this  perfect  design,  as 
being  capable  of  working  "in  all  manner  of 
workmanship." 

But  how  could  all  this  artistic  work  be  exe- 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       217 

cuted  by  those  who  had  been  trained  in  slavery 
for  the  manufacture  of  bricks,  and  the  building 
of  store-cities,  in  the  land  of  Egypt  ?  Even 
Moses,  who  was  instructed  in  the  highest 
branches  of  Egyptian  learning,  nay,  who  was 
Divinely  instructed  in  "  the  words  of  God,  and 
the  visions  of  the  Almighty,"  though  he  had 
been  made  to  see  the  model  Tabernacle  on  the 
mount,  yet  he  knew  not  how  to  weave,  or  en- 
grave, or  embroider.  His  position  in  the  court 
was  as  far  above  the  daily  toils  of  the  silversmith 
or  the  founder,  as  the  degradation  of  his  brethren 
was  below  them ;  nor  had  the  shepherd  life  in 
Midian  tended  to  the  elucidation  of  his  mechani- 
cal genius.  But  that  God  who  had  caused  His 
Spirit  to  rest  upon  the  Jewish  legislator,  now  in- 
spired by  the  same  Spirit  the  artisans  who  were 
chosen  to  construct  the  Tabernacle^;  thus  clearly 
evincing  the  instructive  fact  that  mechanical 
skill  flows  from  the  same  Divine  source  as  legis- 
lative wisdom  and  moral  courage.  Thus  it  ap- 
pears that  human  distinctions  are  found  to 
vanish  in  proportion  as  we  come  within  the 
radiance  of  the  eternal  throne.  The  ruler  and 
the  artisan  feel  alike  distant  from  the  infinite 
majesty  of  the  universal  Sovereign,  while  both 
are  equally  dependent  upon  Him  for  the  wisdom 
respectively  imparted.  That  God  who  had  said 
to  Moses  at  the  back  of  the  desert,  "  I  will  be 
10 


218       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

with  thy  mouth,  and  teach  thee  what  thou  shalt 
say,"  now  promised  to  direct  the  head  and  the 
hands  of  those  called  to  the  building  of  the 
Tabernacle.  "And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses, 
saying,  See,  I  have  called  by  name  Bezaleel,  the 
son  of  Uri,  the  son  of  Hur,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  : 
and  I  have  filled  him  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  in 
wisdom,  and  in  understanding,  and  in  know- 
ledge, and  in  all  manner  of  workmanship.  And 
I,  behold,  I  have  given  with  him  Aholiab,  the 
son  of  Ahisamach,  of  the  tribe  of  Dan  :  and  in 
the  hearts  of  all  that  are  wise-hearted  I  have 
put  wisdom,  that  they  may  make  all  that  I  have 
commanded  thee."  There  is  no  previous  record 
regarding  these  artificers,  by  which  it  can  be 
ascertained  whether  they  had  formerly  given 
themselves  to  the  acquisition  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  arts  and  ^sciences.  The  probabilities  are 
rather  against  such  a  supposition.  The  frequent 
removal  of  the  camp,  together  with  the  fact  that 
their  garments  waxed  not  old  in  their  march 
through  the  wilderness,  go  far  to  prove  that 
there  was  no  extensive  cultivation  of  the  arts 
prior  to  this  period.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  in- 
timation of  their  call  to  the  work,  and  the 
announcement  with  which  it  was  accompanied, 
leaves  no  room  to  doubt  that  the  present  endow- 
ments were  altogether  extraordinary.  The  Spirit 
of  God  inspired  them  with  genius  to  understand 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  219 

the  Divinely-communicated  plans,  and  with  skill 
to  fill  them  up,  in  that  order  and  beauty  which 
had  been  prescribed. 

But  this  inspiration  of  genius  was  not  con- 
fined to  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab,  the  chief  archi- 
tects and  partners  in  this  vast  undertaking.  All 
who  were  called  to  the  work  are  designated 
"  wise-hearted."  "  And  Moses  called  Bezaleel 
and  Aholiab,  and  every  wise-hearted  man,  in 
whose  heart  the  LORD  had  put  wisdom,  even 
every  one  whose  heart  stirred  him  up  to  come 
unto  the  work  to  do  it."  Nor  were  the  daughters 
of  Israel  excluded  from  having  a  part  in  the 
sanctuary,  and  in  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit.  "  And 
all  the  women  that  were  wise-hearted  did  spin 
with  their  hands,  and  brought  that  which  they 
had  spun,  both  of  blue,  and  of  purple,  and  of 
scarlet,  and  of  fine  linen.  And  all  the  women, 
whose  hearts  stirred  them  up  in  wisdom,  spun 
goats'  hair."  Thus,  it  would  appear  that  there 
was  a  general  inspiration  of  genius  in  proportion 
to  the  special  work  given  each  to  accomplish ; 
and  in  the  case  of  all  the  will  and  the  affections 
seem  to  have  been  moved  in  conjunction  with 
the  understanding.  The  erection  of  the  Taber- 
nacle was  a  "  labor  of  love,"  succeeding  the  re- 
vival of  true  religion  among  the  tribes  of  Israel. 
For  a  season  that  work  had  been  retarded  by 
the  backsliding  of  the  people.  The  erection  and 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

worship  of  the  golden  calf  had  provoked  the 
Holy  One  to  hide  His  face,  and  to  inflict  His 
judgments.  But,  by  the  intercession  of  Moses, 
their  sin  was  pardoned,  the  promise  of  the  Di- 
vine presence  was  renewed,  and  the  tables  of 
stone  were  again  engraven  with  the  moral  law. 
The  people  had  been  deeply  humbled,  so  that 
the  return  of  Moses  with  the  message  of 
mercy  was  a  signal  for  universal  gratitude.  The 
same  commission  that  restored  the  tables  an- 
nounced the  purpose  of  God  regarding  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  His  holy  command  regarding  the 
offerings  to  be  dedicated  for  its  construction 
and  future  service.  This  revival  of  true  religion 
in  the  souls  of  the  Israelites,  accounts  for  that 
unparalleled  liberality  which  characterized  their 
offerings  ;  and  it  accorded  with,  and  was  prepara- 
tory to,  that  extraordinary  inspiration  of  genius 
which,  like  their  goods,  was  laid  as  a  voluntary 
sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  a  gracious  God.  The 
season  and  the  circumstances  in  which  the  offer- 
ings were  presented,  and  the  work  itself  accom- 
plished, indicate,  in  the  most  convincing  manner, 
the  close  relation  which  subsists  between  the 
moral  and  the  intellectual  powers,  and  especially 
between  the  work  of  grace  in  the  soul,  and  the 
expansion  of  all  the  human  faculties.  Is  there 
not  reason  to  believe,  from  this  coincidence  in 
the  building  of  the  Tabernacle,  that  when  the 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.    •  221 

whole  human  family  shall  become  wise-hearted, 
through  the  illumination  of  the  Spirit  during 
the  Millennium,  and  when  their  offerings  shall 
again  flow  with  equal  liberality  into  the  treasury 
of  the  Lord,  human  genius  shall  be  extended 
beyond  all  present  conceptions  ?  May  it  not  be 
that,  through  this  very  channel,  the  God  of 
providence  shall  open  the  treasury  of  nature, 
and  pour  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be 
room  enough  to  receive  it. 

THE   SACRED   VESTMENTS. 

The  sacerdotal  garments  for  the  priesthood 
were  made  in  conformity  to  a  Divine  pattern, 
and  the  skill  whereby  they  were  prepared  is 
attributed  to  a  Divine  source.  "  Thou  shalt 
make  holy  garments  for  Aaron  thy  brother,  for 
glory  and  for  beauty.  And  these  are  the  gar- 
ments which  they  shall  make  ;  a  breastplate, 
and  an  ephod,  and  a  robe,  and  a  girdle."  So 
explicit  is  the  command  regarding  their  forma- 
tion that  a  whole  chapter*  is  devoted  to  a  de- 
scription of  the  materials,  the  form,  and  mode  of 
joining  the  various  parts,  the  setting  of  the 
stones  in  the  breastplate,  together  with  the 
order  and  the  seasons  when  they  should  be  put 
on.  These,  like  the  Tabernacle,  were  prepared 
under  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit.  "  Thou 

*  Exodus  xxviii. 


222     •  THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

shalt  speak  unto  all  that  are  wise-hearted,  whom 
I  have  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  wisdom,  that  they 
may  make  Aaron  garments  to  consecrate  him, 
that  he  may  minister  unto  Me  in  the  priest's 
office."  The  harmony  of  all  parties  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Tabernacle,  and  the  preparation  of 
the  sacred  garments,  is  peculiarly  marked  by  the 
forms  of  expression  employed  in  their  descrip- 
tion. Those  who  gave  are  designated  "willing- 
hearted,"  and  those  who  wrought  are  represented 
as  "  wise-hearted."  These  terms  seem  to  indi- 
cate the  union  of  genuine  piety  with  liberality, 
on  the  part  of  those  who  offered  ;  'and  the  com- 
bination of  moral  interest  with  inspired  genius, 
on  the  part  of  those  who  performed  the  work. 
Here  there  was  "  wisdom  dwelling  with  pru- 
dence, and  integrity  of  purpose  associated  with 
consummate  skill.  Never  before  had  there  been 
seen  such  workmen,  and  never  since  has  there 
been  such  perfection  displayed  in  filling  up  the 
individual  details  of  a  stupendous  design.  The 
inspired  penman  has  recorded  their  eulogium. 
"  According  to  all  that  the  LORD  commanded 
Moses,  so  the  children  of  Israel  made  all  the 
work.  And  Moses  did  look  upon  all  the 
work,  and  behold,  they  had  done  it  as  the  LORD 
had  commanded,  even  so  had  they  done  it :  and 
Moses  blessed  them."  No  sculptured  marble 
transmitted  their  names  or  physiognomies  to 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       223 

future  generations.  No  earth-born  titles  of 
knighthood  were  conferred  by  the  king  in  Je- 
shuran  upon  these  successful  artificers  ;  but  "  he 
blessed  them  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  and  re- 
corded their  zeal  and  obedience  in  the  Divine 
service  as  an  imperishable  memorial.  The 
Tabernacle  itself  was  their  monument !  The 
benediction  of  Moses  was  the  public  record  of 
approbation  from  God  and  man.  Kealizing  the 
inspiration  of  the  Spirit,  their  work  had  been 
characterized  as  a  labor  of  love.  To  them  the 
glory  of  Divine  wisdom  was  apparent  in  the 
selection  of  every  element,  in  the  formation  of 
every  instrument,  in  the  adaptation  of  every  part 
to  the  consummation  of  the  original  design. 
What  must  have  been  their  feelings  at  its  final 
dedication,  when  the  whole  was  irradiated  with 
the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  ? 

THE   TEMPLE. 

The  Temple,  like  the  Tabernacle,  was  a  work 
of  God,  though  erected  and  furnished  by  human 
hands.  The  record  regarding  it  is  less  explicit 
concerning  the  inspiration  of  the  workmen,  but 
there  is  enough  to  convince  the  unprejudiced 
mind  that  the  skill  of  Solomon's  artificers  must 
be  traced  to  the  same  source  as  that  of  Bezaleel 
and  Aholiab.  In  this,  however,  the  circum- 
stances are  entirely  different.  The  exposition  of 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

the  arts  involved  in  the  construction  of  the 
Tabernacle,  had  been  progressing  for  nearly  four 
centuries.  The  nation  of  Israel  was  the  most 
prosperous  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  We 
doubt  not  that  during  this  intervening  period, 
many  artificers  had  been  specially  endowed  for 
the  development  of  art  as  well  as  for  the  science 
of  war.  The  accumulative  wisdom  of  these 
centuries  must  be  devoted  spontaneously  to  the 
service  of  God  in  the  building  of  that  house 
where  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  should  place  His 
name.  But  there  is  another  circumstance  which 
must  not  be  overlooked.  The  chosen  king  of 
Israel  was  endowed  with  understanding,  and 
wisdom  above  all  the  men  who  had  gone  before 
him  ;  and  also  above  all  by  whom  he  has  been 
succeeded.  "  God  gave  Solomon  wisdom  and  un- 
derstanding exceeding  much,  and  largeness  of 
heart,  even  as  the  sand  that  is  on  the  sea  shore. 
And  Solomon's  wisdom  excelled  the  wisdom  of 
all  the  men  of  the  east  country,  and.  all  the 
wisdom  of  Egypt.  For  he  was  wiser  than  all 
men."  This  special  inspiration  immediately 
preceded  the  building  of  the  Temple.  The 
first  efforts  of  this  wisdom  were  consecrated  to 
God. 

But  though  this  was  the  largest  measure  of 
wisdom  ever  communicated  to  mere  man,  it  was 
not  sufficient  to  plan  that  house  which  was  now 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       225 

to  be  built  to  the  LORD  upon  Mount  Moriah. 
The  God  of  infinite  wisdom  communicated  the 
design  to  David,  which  Solomon  was  inspired 
with  wisdom  and  understanding  to  fill  up  in 
mechanical  detail.  The  parting  counsels  of  the 
dying  sovereign  to  his  son  and  successor  on  the 
throne  of  Israel,  has  especial  reference  to  the 
building  of  the  Temple.  "  Take  heed  now,  for 
the  LORD  hath  chosen  thee,  to  build  an  house  for 
the  sanctuary ;  be  strong  and  do  it.  Then  David 
gave  to  Solomon  his  son  the  pattern  of  the  porch, 
and  of  the  houses  thereof,  and  of  the  treasuries 
thereof,  and  of  the  upper  chambers  thereof,  and 
of  the  inner  parlors  thereof,  and  of  the  place  of 
the  mercy  seat,  and  the  pattern  of  all  that  he  had 
by  the  Spirit,  of  the  courts  of  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  and  of  all  the  chambers  round  about,  of 
the  treasuries  of  the  house  of  God,  and  of  the 
treasuries  of  the  dedicated  things,  and  all  the 
vessels  of  service  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  .  .  . 
All  this  said  David,  the  LORD  made  me  under- 
stand by  writing,  by  His  hand  upon  me,  even  all 
the  works  of  this  pattern."  In  receiving  this  mo- 
mentous charge,  there  were  communicated  gra- 
cious promises.  David  said  unto  Solomon  his  son, 
"  Be  strong  and  of  good  courage  and  doit;  fear  not, 
nor  be  dismayed,  for  the  LORD  God,  even  my  God 
will  be  with  thee,  He  will  not  fail  thee  nor  forsake 
thee  until  thou  hast  finished  all  the  work  for  the 
10 


226  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

service  of  the  house  of  the  LORD.  And  be- 
hold the  courses  of  the  priests  and  the  Levites, 
even  they  shall  be  with  thee,  for  all  the  service 
of  the  house  of  God,  and  there  shall  be  with 
thee  for  all  manner  of  workmanship,  every  will- 
ing and  skilful  man  for  any  manner  of  service, 
also  the  princes  and  all  the  people  will  be  wholly 
at  thy  commandment."  Here  there  is  the  pro- 
mise of  Divine  guidance,  the  promise  of  skilful 
willing  workmen — the  promise  of  priestly  coun- 
tenance, and  of  princely  assistance.  Does  not 
this  promise,  as  given  by  inspiration  to  David, 
necessarily  imply  that  the  skill  and  the  readi- 
ness of  mind  must  be  traced  to  the  source  from 
whence  the  promise  itself  emanates  ?  The  har- 
mony and  co-operation  are  similar  to  what  was 
unfolded  in  the  previous  construction  of  the 
Tabernacle,  consequently,  even  upon  the  philo- 
sophical maxim,  that  "  like  causes  produce  like 
effects,"  the  mechanical  glory  and  perfection  of 
the  Temple  must  be  traced  to  the  inspiration  of 
the  Spirit  of  God. 

This  is  fully  acknowledged  in  the  dedication 
prayer  by  which  it  was  set  apart  to  the  service 
of  Jehovah,  on  that  solemn  day,  when  it  was 
filled  with  "  the  glory  of  the  Lord."  "  Blessed 
be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  who  hath  with  His 
hands  fulfilled  that  which  He  spake  with  His 
mouth  to  my  father  David.  ...  0  LORD 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  227 

God  of  Israel,  there  is  no  God  like  Thee  in  the 
heaven  nor  in  the  earth ;  which  keepest  cove- 
nant, and  showest  mercy  unto  Thy  servants.  .  .  . 
Thou  which  hast  kept  with  His  servant  David 
my  father  that  which  Thou  hast  promised  him, 
and  speakest  with  Thy  mouth,  and  hast  fulfilled 
it  with  Thine  hand,  as  it  is  this  day/'*  In  the 
introductory  sentences  of  this  dedicatory  prayer, 
he  unfolds  the  relation  in  which  this  holy  house 
stood  to  God  the  designer,  and  to  Solomon  the 
architect.  "The  LORD  hath  said,  That  He 
would  not  dwell  in  the  thick  darkness.  But  I 
have  built  an  house  of  habitation  for  Thee,  and 
a  place  for  Thy  dwelling  forever."  While  pro- 
ceeding with  a  review  of  the  Divine  promise, 
made  to  the  house  of  Israel ;  and  while  reflect- 
ing upon  the  dispensations  of  Providence  to- 
wards the  house  of  David  and  especially  when 
he  gazed  upon  the  Temple  as  filled  with  the 
Divine  glory,  he  lost  sight  of  his  own  regal  dig- 
nity— he  forgets  his  comprehensive  wisdom — he 
rises  above  the  priests,  the  princes,  the  cunning 
artificers — he  beholds  the  Temple  as  of  God  and 
to  God — as  the  exposition  of  eternal  wisdom  in 
its  first  elements  of  thought,  and  of  Almighty 
power,  and  infinite  goodness  in  its  final  consum- 
mation. 

In  the  dedication  of  that,  which  David  the 

*  2  Chron.,  vi.  14,  16. 


228       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

king  had  prepared  for  the  building  of  the  Temple, 
God  was  in  the  fullest  sense  recognized  as  the 
Author  of  every  gift.  "  Thine,  0  Lord,  is  the 
greatness,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  and  the 
victory,  and  the  majesty ;  for  all  that  is  in  the 
heaven  and  in  the  earth  is  Thine  ;  Thine  is  the 
kingdom,  0  LORD,  and  Thou  art  exalted  as  head 
over  all.  Both  riches  and  honor  come  of  Thee, 
and  Thou  reign est  over  all ;  and  in  Thine  hand 
is  power  and  might ;  and  in  Thine  hand  it  is  to 
make  great,  and  to  give  strength  unto  all.  Now, 
therefore,  our  God,  we  thank  Thee,  and  praise 
Thy  glorious  name.  But  who  am  I,  and  what  is 
my  people  that  they  should  be  able  to  offer  so 
willingly  after  this  sort  ?  For  all  things  come 
of  Thee,  and  of  Thine  own  have  we  given  Thee" 
To  this  the  gracious  soul  of  Solomon  responds, 
when  he  beheld  the  goodly  Temple  beaming 
with  the  rays  of  heavenly  glory.  In  every  stone 
of  that  building — in  every  gilded  beam — in  every 
ornamental  pillar,  in  every  brazen  altar,  the 
hand  Divine  was  visible.  Nay,  in  every  object, 
from  the  tongs  and  the  snuffers,  to  the  mercy 
seat  and  the  cherubim,  the  glory  of  God  was 
exhibited  to  the  eye  of  faith,  in  their  original 
construction  and  sacred  use.  Genius,  and  wis- 
dom, and  princely  power,  and  sovereign  author- 
ity, vanish  in  conception,  before  the  glory  and 
majesty  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  The  God  of 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.        229 

the  promise  fulfilled — the  God  of  the  covenant 
pledged — the  God  of  the  Temple  irradiated — 
the  God  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  beaming  in  in- 
finite majesty  from  above  the  mercy  seat — was 
'•'all  and  in  all"  to  the  faith  and  hope  of  Solo- 
mon, and  unto  Him  alone  will  he  ascribe 
the  glory.  "  Blessed  be  the  LOBD  that  hath 

given  rest  unto  His  people,  Israel 

Now,  therefore,  arise,  0  LORD  God,  into  Thy 
resting-place,  Thou  and  the  ark  of  Thy  strength ; 
let  Thy  priests,  0  LORD  God,  be  clothed 
with  salvation,  and  let  Thy  saints  rejoice  in 
goodness." 

The  Tabernacle,  and  the  Temple,  and  the 
sacred  vestments  were  holy,  and  in  their  con- 
struction and  use  were  typical.  But  though 
typical,  they  were  still  mechanical.  That  wis- 
dom by  which  they  were  formed  was  available 
for  common  purposes,  and  those  lines  of  beauty 
which  they  displayed  might  serve  as  models  to 
future  artisans.  In  their  consecration  to  God, 
they  were  not  viewed  simply  as  types,  but  also 
as  the  exponents  of  that  wisdom  and  skill  which 
the  Spirit  of  God  had  conferred.  The  artificers 
were  willing-hearted  as  well  as  wise-hearted, 
consequently,  the  intellectual  gifts  communi- 
cated, were  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God,  as 
really  as  the  materials  from  which  it  was  formed. 
Is  there  not  here  a  type  of  the  future  renova- 


230       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

tion  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  their  entire 
consecration  to  the  service  and  honor  of  God  ? 
To  this  the  prophet  Zechariah  looked  forward. 
"  In  that  day  shall  there  be  upon  the  bells  of 
the  horses,  HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD  ; 
and  the  pots  in  the  LORD'S  house  shall  be  like 
the  bowls  before  the  altar.  Yea,  every  pot  in 
Jerusalem  and  in  Judah  shall  be  holiness  unto 
the  LOED  of  hosts."  That  is,  when  with  the 
gracious  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  there  shall  be 
vast  enlargement  of  the  human  powers,  all  their 
energies  shall  be  devoted  to  God.  The  wisdom 
communicated  from  above  will  be  profitable  to 
direct  in  every  enterprize,  and  the  most  common 
operations  of  business,  shall  be  conducted  with 
an  eye  to  the  glory  of  God.  Then  shall  the 
matron  and  the  merchant  meet  at  the  Lord's 
treasury.  Then  shall  the  architect  and  the  me- 
chanic rejoice  together  in  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
Nor  is  this  all,  The  Spirit  of  the  sanctuary  shall 
pervade  the  workshop  and  the  manufactory — 
the  counting-house  and  the  exchange — the 
stately  mansion  and  the  humble  cottage.  Then 
shall  the  family  crests — the  badges  of  earthly 
heraldry — be  supplanted  by  this  universal  sym- 
bol of  the  supremacy  of  Jehovah.  Nor  shall 
this  recognition  of  the  moral  Governor  be  only 
public  or  official.  HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD 
shall  be  the  motto  exhibited  in  everv  social  circle 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       231 

and  reflected  in  the  grace  and  purity  of  every 
Christian  family.  Then  shall  the  angelic  song, 
"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,"  be  re-echoed 
from  the  mountain  and  the  plain — from  the 
bosom  of  the  sea,  and  from  the  solitude  of 
the  desert — from  the  joyous  city,  and  from 
the  sober  hamlet.  The  factory  and  the  fireside 
shall  both  become  vocal  with  the  praise  of  the 
LORD. 

The  language  of  the  prophet  is  peculiarly 
emphatic.  It  is  not  only  in  the  Temple,  that 
the  dedicated  vessels  of  service  are  holy,  but 
"every  pot  in  Jerusalem  and  Judah"  shall  bear 
the  same  inscription.  That  is,  In  the  Temple 
— in  the  city  of  solemnities,  and  in  the  rural 
mansion,  God  shall  be  recognized,  acknowledged, 
and  adored.  The  religion  of  the  Bible  shall  no 
longer  be  confined  to  the  Sabbath  or  the  sanc- 
tuary, but  permeating  the  hearts  of  the  reno- 
vated community,  it  will  manifest  itself  in  every 
enterprize  —  sweeten  every  relation — sanctify 
every  joy — alleviate  every  trial,  and  mitigate  the 
sum  total  of  human  suffering.  Then  shall  in- 
deed be  realized  the  conclusion  of  the  angelic 
stanza — "  On  earth  peace,  good-will  toward 
men."  Then  shall  the  redeemed  of  the  LORD 
rejoice  in  the  reign  of  righteousness,  and  in  the 
triumphs  on  earth,  of  grace  and  truth.  Such 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

were   the    inspired    anticipations    of   the   poet 
Cowper — 

"  The  groans  of  nature  in  this  nether  world 
"Which  heaven  has  heard  for  ages,  have  an  end, 
Foretold  by  prophets,  and  by  poets  sung — 
"Whose  fife  was  kindled  at  the  prophet's  lamp, 
The  time  of  rest,  the  promised  Sabbath  comes. 
Six  thousand  years  of  sorrow  have  well  nigh 
FulfilTd  their  tardy  and  disastrous  course 
Over  a  sinful  world ;  and  what  remains 
Of  this  tempestuous  state  of  human  things 
Is  merely  as  the  working  of  a  sea 
Before  a  calm  that  rocks  itself  to  rest" 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SCRIPTURE  RECORD  OF  INSPIRED  GENIUS  DEVOTED  TO  THE 
ORDINARY  PURPOSES   OP   SOCIAL  LIFE. 

THE  building  of  the  Temple  was  succeeded 
by  the  golden  age  of  Jewish  history.  The  reign 
of  Solomon  was  the  culminating  point  of  the 
Hebrew  dynasty.  During  his  administration 
the  body  politic  had  realized  its  fullest  develop- 
ment. The  preceding  ages  were  preparatory 
for  that  wonderful  display  of  human  wisdom  and 
regal  glory  by  which  the  land  of  Palestine  was 
distinguished  at  this  period  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth.  It  has  been  poetically  remarked, 
that  "just  as  the  aloe  shoots,  and  in  one  stately 
blossom  pours  forth  the  life  which  has  been 
calmly  collecting  for  a  century,  so  it  would  ap- 
pear as  if  nations  were  destined  to  pour  forth 
their  accumulated  qualities  in  some  characteris- 
tic man,  and  then  they  droop  away."  It  was 
thus  with  the  nation  of  Israel  during  the  period 
of  Solomon's  glory.  That  vine  which  the  LORD 
had  brought  out  of  Egypt  had  taken  deep  root, 


234       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

and  had  filled  the  land.  The  previous  inspira- 
tion of  legislators,  and  warriors,  and  artisans, 
had  prepared  the  way  for  a  fuller  and  richer 
display  of  justice,  peace,  prosperity,  and  progress, 
than  were  attained  -during  any  other  period  of 
the  Jewish  nationality.  In  Solomon  is  exhibited 
the  apex  of  this  constitutional  pyramid,  radiant, 
indeed,  with  the  rays  of  wisdom,  but  reflecting 
a  borrowed  light,  even  that  effulgence  which 
beams  from  the  eternal  throne.  "  The  LORD 
gave  him  wisdom  and  understanding  exceeding 
much,  and  largeness  of  heart,  even  as  the  sand 
that  is  on  the  sea  shore,  so  that  his  wisdom  ex- 
celled the  wisdom  of  all  the  children  of  the  East 
country,  and  all  the  wisdom  of  Egypt."  As 
"  Melchisedec,  King  of  Salem,  priest  of  the  most 
high  God,"  stood  alone  in  the  ministrations  of 
the  spiritual  sanctuary,  thus  stood  Solomon  as  king 
in  Jerusalem,  gloriously  isolated  by  the  magni- 
tude of  his  mental  powers,  when  inspired  as  the 
minister  of  Nature's  temple,  to  elicit  and  ex- 
pound her  hidden  treasures.  The  first  fruits  of 
inspired  genius  were  properly  devoted  to  the 
building  of  the  Temple ;  but  that  wisdom  where- 
with he  was  endowed  was  not  exhausted  by  one 
gigantic  effort.  His  mental  powers  seem  only 
to  have  been  strengthened  by  exercise  in  accom- 
plishing that  stupendous  enterprise.  Having 
tasted  the  sweets  of  wisdom  in  laying  nature 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  235 

under  tribute  for  the  honor  of  God,  he  turned 
again  in  the  giant  strength  of  that  genius 
wherewith  the  Spirit  had  endowed  him,  to  her 
exhaustless  resources,  that  he  might  elicit  her 
treasures  for  the  benefit  of  man,  and  increase  the 
stdfck  of  human  knowledge,  by  an  exposition  of 
their  nature  and  purposes. 

It  is  customary  to  contemplate  and  to  speak 
of  Solomon  in  regard  to  his  regal  glory  and 
mental  magnitude,  and  to.  view  these  as  if  they 
were  designed  for  his  personal  aggrandisement. 
But  though  isolated  by  the  expansion  of  his 
mental  powers,  there  was  no  design  that  his  wis- 
dom should  be  concentrated  in  himself,  or  appear 
merely  to  be  admired  by  his  fellow-men.  The 
inspiration  of  the  Spirit  was  received  as  a  talent 
to  be  traded  with,  for  the  benefit  of  humanity. 
The  record  of  his  great  works  is  a  Divine  testi- 
mony to  the  manner  in  which  his  peculiar  wis- 
dom was  exercised.  In  his  person  and  history 
we  are  furnished  with  an  illustration  of  the 
mind's  capabilities,  and  of  the  natural  course  it 
will  pursue  when  Divinely  illuminated.  The 
interests  of  the  Church,  the  welfare  of  the  state, 
and  the  comfort  of  the  family,  are  beautifully 
blended  in  the  early  period  of  his  administration. 
Each  of  these  branches  might  furnish  a  topic 
for  lengthened  illustration,  but  the  present  ob- 
ject is,  to  contemplate  the  wisest  of  men  in  the 


286       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

most  favorable  circumstances  for  mental  de- 
velopment ;  and,  more  especially,  to  consider  the 
objects  and  pursuits  in  which,  this  colossal  genius 
is  found  embodied. 

INSPIRED   WISDOM    EVOLVED   IN   AGRICULTURE. 

His  reign  was  distinguished  by  the  cultivation 
of  the  useful  arts.  In  agriculture,  and  land- 
scape designs,  he  had  no  compeer.  "  I  made  me 
great  works,  I  builded  me  houses,  I  planted  me 
vineyards.  I  made  me  gardens  and  orchards, 
and  I  planted  in  them  trees  of  all  kinds  of  fruits. 
I  made  me  pools  of  water,  to  water  therewith 
the  wood  that  bringeth  forth  trees.  I  had  great 
possessions  of  great  and  small  cattle,  above  all 
that  were  in  Jerusalem  before  me."  Here  is, 
perhaps,  the  first  example  of  scientific  agricul- 
ture. The  record,  as  furnished  by  the  Spirit 
seems  to  indicate,  though  yet  future,  the  partial 
restoration  of  the  luxuries  and  beauties  of  Para- 
dise. Under  the  hand  of  Solomon  the  "  earth 
was  subdued/'  and  its  fruitfulness  elicited,  as  it 
never  had  been  in  any  preceding  age.  Is  there 
not,  in  the  portrait  of  Jerusalem  and  Judah,  as 
drawn  by  the  Spirit,  a  lively  picture  of  what 
this  barren  world  shall  yet  become,  when  the 
Lord  shall  pour  forth  his  blessings  upon  his  re- 
deemed people  ?  Is  there  not  here  a  type  of 
earth's  golden  era  ? 


THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS.  237 

11  Of  scenes  surpassing  fable,  and  yet  true, 
Scenes  of  accomplished  bliss ;  which  who  can  see, 
Though  but  in  distant  prospect,  and  not  feel 
His  soul  refreshed  with  foretaste  of  the  joy  ? 
Rivers  of  gladness  water  all  the  earth, 
And  clothe  all  climes  in  beauty :  The  reproach 
Of  barrenness  is  past.     The  fruitful  field 
Laughs  with  abundance,  and  the  land,  once  lean, 
Or  fertile  only  with  its  own  disgrace, 
Exults  to  see  its  thistly  curse  repealed. 
The  various  seasons,  woven  into  one, 
And  that  one  season  an  eternal  Spring 


INSPIRED    GENIUS   UNFOLDED    IN   ARCHITECTURE. 

Of  the  Temple,  as  a  monument  of  architectu- 
ral magnificence,  notice  has  already  been  taken. 
As  a  monument  of  Divine  wisdom  reflected  in 
the  person  of  Solomon,  it  stands  in  the  sacred 
category  with  the  Tabernacle,  and'  the  Altar,  and 
the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  which  were  all  conse- 
crated to  the  spiritual  service  of  Jehovah.  But 
there  are  other  monuments  of  his  inspired  wis- 
dom, which  stand  in  the  class  of  common  bless- 
ings— such  as  his  royal  palace,  which  occupied 
thirteen  years  in  its  construction,  and  the  house 
of  the  Forest  of  Lebanon,  of  which  the  Spirit  of 
God  has  given  us  a  geometrical  design.*  The 
magnificence  of  these  palaces  can  only  be  con- 
ceived by  a  careful  scientific  study  of  the  descrip- 
tion recorded.  The  exposition  of  the  arts  ap- 
pears in  comprehensive  development,  when  we 

*  1  Kings,  vii 


238  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

reflect  upon  all  the  inventions  which  must  neces- 
sarily have  been  brought  into  use  at  their  erec- 
tion. Of  some  of  these  the  Spirit  has  given  us 
distinct  information.  These  palaces  were  built 
of  "  costly  stones,  according  to  the  measures  of 
hewed  stones,  sawed  with  saws,  within  and 
without,  even  from  the  foundation  unto  the  cop- 
ing   And  the  foundation  was  of  costly 

stones,  even  great  stones,  stones  of  ten  cubits, 
and  stones  of  eight  cubits."  These  must  have 
required  extensive  engineering  skill  to  transfer 
them  from  the  distant  quarry,  and  to  place  them 
upon  the  stately  edifice.  The  ornamental  work 
was  in  keeping  with  the  building,  and  all  the 
fittings  and  furnishing  were  of  the  most  exqui- 
site description.  Let  one  specimen  suffice. 
"  Moreover,  the  king  made  a  great  throne  of 
ivory,  and  overlaid  it  with  the  best  gold.  The 
throne  had  six  steps,  and  the  top  of  the  throne 
was  round  behind,  and  there  were  stays  on  either 
side  on  the  place  of  the  seat,  and  two  lions  stood 
beside  the  stays.  And  twelve  lions  stood  there 
upon  the  one  side  and  upon  the  other,  upon  the 
six  steps.  There  was  not  the  like  in  any  king- 
dom." Why,  it  may  be  asked,  did  the  Spirit 
record  this  exposition  of  art  ?  Simply  because 
it  was  the  exponent  of  that  Divine  wisdom 
wherewith  the  king  was  so  largely  endowed—- 
the innocent  application  of  that  architectural 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  239 

taste  of  which  he  was  constituted  the  historic 
head.  The  designs  of  Babylonian  palaces  have 
perished  with  the  ruins  of  the  doomed  city ;  hut 
though  Jerusalem  has  fallen,  the  plans  of  the 
Tabernacle,  the  Temple,  and  the  House  of  the 
Forest  of  Lebanon,  have  been  deposited  in  the 
imperishable  archives  of  Bible  history.  This  re- 
cord is  at  once  a  testimony  to  God's  faithfulness 
in  fulfilling  the  promises  of  prosperity  made  to 
David,  to  the  inspiration  of  genius  wherewith 
Solomon  was  endowed,  and  to  the  resources  of 
wealth  in  that  land  in  which  the  Israelites  were 
planted.  May  it  not  be  that  during  the  Millen- 
nium, when  righteousness  shall  reign,  and  uni- 
versal peace  shall  be  enjoyed,  spiritually  illumi- 
nated kings  and  nobles  shall  yet  revive  this 
model  architecture,  restoring  the  beautiful  and 
the  true,  while  exhibiting  the  riches  of  the  Di- 
vine Benefactor  ? 

INSPIRED  GENIUS  DISPLAYED   IN  WORKS  OF 
TASTE  AND   ORNAMENT. 

The  precious  wood  imported  from  Ophir  im- 
parted a  fresh  impulse  to  Solomon's  inventive 
powers.  "  The  king  made  of  the  almug  trees 
pillars  for  the  house  of  the  LORD,  and  for  the 
king's  house,  harps  also  and  psalteries  for  singers." 
These  he  afterwards  describes  by  the  significant 
appellation,  "  The  delights  of  the  sons  of  men, 


240  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

as  musical  instruments,  and  that  of  all  sorts." 
Though  his  reign  was  one  of  peace,  his  halls  ex- 
hibited the  trophies  of  war  wrested  from  the 
enemy.  Beside  these  were  placed  the  targets 
and  the  shields  of  beaten  gold  which  were  made 
by  the  hundred,  and  deposited  in  the  house  of 
the  forest  of  Lebanon.  To  these  warlike  sym- 
bols may  be  added  the  gorgeous  drinking 
vessels  of  gold,  and  "  all  the  vessels  of  the  house 
of  the  forest  of  Lebanon  which  were  of  pure 
gold."  Space  forbids  a  description  of  the  mol- 
ten sea,  or  the  chapiters  of  molten  brass,  or  the 
nets  of  checker  work,  and  the  wreaths  of  chain 
work,  which  were  prepared  for  ornament.  We 
refer  the  student  of  artistic  operations  to  the  full 
and  explicit  record  given  by  the  Spirit  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  the  first  book  of  Kings.  But 
let  it  be  observed  that  in  addition  to  the  inspi- 
ration of  Solomon,  a  heathen  artist  was  prepared 
by  the  Spirit  to  accomplish  this  work.  "  King 
Solomon  sent  and  fetched  Hiram  out  of  Tyre. 
He  was  a  worker  in  brass,  and  he  was  filled  with 
wisdom  and  understanding,  and  cunning  to 
work  all  works  in  brass."  Like  Bezaleel  and 
Aholiab  he  was  Divinely  qualified,  and  called  by 
the  king  of  Israel  to  special  work,  both  sacred 
and  civil.  If  there  was  found  a  worker  in  brass 
"  filled  with  wisdom"  at  Tyre  in  the  highest  day 
of  Jewish  prosperity  and  favor,  may  not  such 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  241 

be  found  from  age  to  age  even  in  the  lands  of 
heathenism,  and  shall  not  many  such  be  found 
in  this  world's  Christendom  during  the  coming 
Millennium  ? 

INSPIRATION  OF  GENIUS,  GIVING  RISE  TO  NAVAL 
ARCHITECTURE,  AND  INTERNATIONAL  COM- 
MERCE. 

Prior  to  the  reign  of  Solomon,  there  seems  to 
have  been  little  traffic  by  sea.  The  wants  of 
the  Israelites  were  supplied  from  internal  re- 
sources. But  Palestine  being  destitute  of  gold 
in  its  mineral  state,  the  necessity  for  commerce 
with  other  lands  soon  became  apparent  to  the 
mind  of  Solomon.  David  obtained  gold  by 
conquest  in  great  abundance  ;  but  Solomon  in- 
troduced a  peace-policy,  and  obtained  by  com- 
merce what  had  formerly  been  sought  only  by 
the  sword.  "  King  Solomon  made  a  navy  of 
ships  in  Eziongeber,  which  is  beside  Eloth,  on 
the  shore  of  the  Eed  Sea,  in  the  land  of  Edom." 
This  fleet  was  manned  by  Tyrian  sailors,  who 
were  distinguished  for  nautical  skill.  "  Hiram 
sent  in  the  navy  his  servants,  shipmen  that  had 
knowledge  of  the  sea,  with  the  servants  of  Solo- 
mon/' This  navy  traded  with  the  East  Indies, 
bringing  gold  and  almug  trees  and  precious 
stones  from  Ophir.  He  traded  with  Egypt  and 
the  surrounding  kingdoms,  in  horses  and  cha- 
11 


242  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

riots  and  linen.  It  seems  evident,  that  the  prin- 
ciples of  free-trade,  which  in  modern  times  have 
so  long  been  overlaid  by  national  selfishness, 
were  fully  established  by  the  king  of  Israel ; 
and  so  great  was  his  prosperity  under  that 
policy,  that  "  he  made  silver  to  be  in  Jerusalem 
as  stones,  and  cedars  made  he  to  be  as  sycamore 
trees  in  abundance."  These  records  of  Bible 
history  are  sufficient  to  prove  the  tendency  of 
true  wisdom  to  develop  itself  in  the  useful 
arts  ;  and  also  the  influence  of  the  arts  in  pro- 
moting the  brotherhood  of  nations.  The  won- 
der is,  that  with  such  convincing  evidence  the 
question  of  free-trade  should  have  been  so  long 
pending  for  solution  in  Britain  ;  and  the  greater 
wonder  is,  that  Britain  alone  has  adopted  this 
policy.  The  reign  of  Solomon  is  a  standing 
memorial  of  the  legitimate  application  of  native 
genius  in  solving  the  question  of  national  inter- 
course. Strange  !  that  with  the  aid  of  the  com- 
pass, and  the  use  of  steam,  nations  should  still 
be  iron-bound  by  the  shackles  of  prejudice  and 
local  selfishness  !  But  the  time  shall  yet  come 
when  inspired  genius  shall  sit  upon  the  thrones 
of  earth,  and  the  world  shall  become  like  Pales- 
tine, in  its  policy  of  peace,  and  universal  pros- 
perity. 


THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS.  243 


THE  INSPIRATION  OF  GENIUS  AS  EMBODIED  IN 
PHILOSOPHY  AND  LITERATURE. 

The  bent  of  Solomon's  mind  towards  agricul- 
ture, art,  and  commerce,  has  already  been  no- 
ticed, and  the  record  of  his  achievements  is  such 
as  to  place  him  pre-eminently  above  all  kings. 
But  even  these  departments  were  insufficient  to 
exhaust  that  genius  wherewith  he  was  endowed. 
It  is  in  the  higher  branches  of  human  know- 
ledge that  he  stands  transcendently  above  the 
stature  of  all  his  contemporaries  and  successors. 
His  mind  appears,  in  the  plane  of  human  know- 
ledge, as  a  mental  Colossus,  whose  altitude  can- 
not be  measured  by  the  ordinary  intellectual 
quadrant.  His  was  a  culminating  mind  which 
embraced  the  entire  region  of  existing  know- 
ledge. His  genius  was  the  practical  embodi- 
ment of  that  prophetic  type  of  intellect  which 
stretches  far  in  the  distance,  and  grasps  the  full 
development  of  a  future  age.  He  was  the  chief 
of  those  master  spirits  which  constitute  the  land- 
marks of  human  progress.  As  the  snowy-crown 
of  the  Alpine  chain  reflects  the  morning  rays  of 
the  sun  of  nature,  long  ere  the  depths  of  the 
vallies  are  flooded  by  his  effulgent  beams  ;  so  the 
towering  intellect  of  Solomon  was  made  to  reflect 
that  light  of  genius  which  shall  yet  be  diffused 
in  copious  measure  upon  future  generations. 


244       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

None  can  predict  what  may  be  the  expansion  of 
the  mental  powers  in  that  coming  age,  when 
"  the  glory  of  the  LORD  shall  be  revealed,  and 
all  flesh  shall  see  it  together." 

How  difficult  to  classify  his  studies  or  his  ac- 
quirements !  The  amplitude  of  his  knowledge 
confounds  philosophic  distinctions.  Each  branch 
appears  so  radiant  that  it  naturally  blends  with 
the  pure  light  of  every  other.  Each  topic 
and  object  seems  as  if  brought  within  the 
beams  of  divinity,  reflected  through  the  most 
exalted  of  merely  human  intellects.  He  was  a 
living  Encyclopaedia  of  the  arts  and  sciences — a 
system  of  philosophy — a  body  of  divinity.  The 
cabinet  of  knowledge — natural,  political,  moral, 
and  sacred — opened  before  the  touch  of  his 
genius  ;  as  the  prison  gates  unfolded  their  leaves 
before  the  Apostle  when  led  by  an  angel.  Of 
his  general  knowledge  it  is  said,  "  he  was  wiser 
than  all  men,  than  Ethan,  and  Heman,  and 
Chalcol,  and  Darda."  "  His  wisdom  excelled 
the  wisdom  of  the  children  of  the  East  country, 
and  all  the  children  of  Egypt,  and  his  fame  was 
in  all  nations  round  about." 

As  a  naturalist,  "  he  spake  of  trees,  from  the 
cedar  tree  that  is  in  Lebanon,  even  unto  the 
hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall ;  he  spake 
also  of  beasts,  and  of  fowl,  and  of  creeping 
things,  and  of  fishes."  As  a  moralist  and  econo- 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  245 

mist,  he  stands  unrivalled — for  "he  spake  three 
thousand  proverbs,"  of  which  such  as  were  suited 
to  general  utility  have  found  a  place  in  the 
sacred  volume.  As  a  poet,  we  may  form  some 
conception  of  his  genius  from  the  number  of 
songs  indited,  being  no  less  than  "  one  thousand 
and  five."  The  solitary  specimen  of  these,  which 
has  found  a  place  in  the  temple  of  revealed 
truth,  is  eulogised  by  the  Spirit,  when  he  speaks 
of  it  as  "  the  song  of  songs" — that  is,  the  perfec- 
tion of  moral  purity  and  poetic  beauty.  As  a 
philosopher,  he  could  solve  the  most  abstruse 
problems,  and  with  inimitable  brevity  and  power 
record  their  solution  in  some  proverbial  sentence. 
Thus,  the  question  of  circulation  in  the  atmos- 
phere; and  liquid  elements  of  nature — as  now 
discovered  by  philosophical  observation — was 
stated  in  a  single  verse,  as  an  ordinary  matter  of 
course.  "All  the  rivers  run  into  the  sea,  yet  the 
sea  is  not  fuU  :  unto  the  place  from  whence 
the  rivers  come,  thither  they  return  again." 
Volumes  have  been  written  by  those  esteemed 
great  philosophers,  upon  such  topics,  but  by  this 
master-mind  the  essence  of  most  comprehensive 
truths  is  combined  in  a  sentence,  replete  with 
instruction. 

Acquaintance  with  even  one  of  these  depart- 
ments of  knowledge  would  render  the  name  of  a 
philosopher  illustrious  in  our  own  day,  notwith- 


246  THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS. 

standing  the  lapse  of  more  than  twenty-eight 
centuries  since  Solomon's  prelections  were  deliv- 
ered to  crowned  students  in  Jerusalem.  To  write 
or  speak  with  scientific  acumen  upon  any  branch 
of  modern  physics,  will  furnish  a  note  of  intro- 
duction to  the  literati  of  Europe.  But  Solomon 
was  alike  at  home  in  every  department  of  know- 
ledge, and  not  more  at  home  than  ready  to  com- 
municate. The  fame  of  Solomon's  wisdom  drew 
around  him  all  the  master  spirits  of  the  age. 
Jerusalem  was  the  seat  of  science  for  the  world ; 
the  court  of  Solomon  the  rendezvous  of  philo- 
sophers, who  came  to  light  their  lamps  at  this 
planetory  orb,  that  they  might  shine  by  his  re- 
flection in  their  own  remote  and  gloomy  spheres. 
"  There  came  of  all  people  to  hear  the  wisdom 
of  Solomon,  from  all  kings  of  the  earth,  which 
had  heard  of  his  wisdom." 

The  wisdom  of  Solomon  was  associated  with 
the  most  enlarged  affections,  even  "  largeness  of 
heart  as  the  sand  that  is  on  the  sea  shore." 
In  ordinary  minds,  a  very  diminutive  portion  of 
Solomon's  learning  frequently  leads  to  the  nur- 
ture of  pride,  which  is  usually  exhibited  in  the 
ungainly  hauteur  of  the  pedantic  preceptor. 
But  amidst  the  vastitude  of  knowledge  in  which 
his  capacious  soul  daily  revelled,  there  was  ever 
found  benignity  beaming  from  those  eyes,  which 
reflected  the  inner  light  upon  his  distinguished 


THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS.  247 

pupils,  and  "  in  his  tongue  was  the  law  of  kind- 
ness," even  while  pouring  forth  that  burning 
eloquence  which  astonished  and  enriched  the 
world.  Though  grasping  in  one  intellectual 
embrace,  philosophy,  morality,  and  divinity ;  and 
though  sweeping  with  a  heaven-taught  and 
divinely-directed  hand  the  sympathetic  chords 
of  Nature's  harmonicum,  yet,  as  a  wise  and 
humble  preacher,  "  he  still  taught  the  people 
knowledge."  Every  question  was  answered  with 
candor  and  kindness.  In  his  presence  feminine 
delicacy  was  encouraged  to  pour  forth  freely  all 
its  interrogatories.  "  When  the  Queen  of  Sheba 
heard  of  the  fame  of  Solomon,  concerning  the 
name  of  the  LORD,  she  came  to  prove  him  with 
hard  questions."  When  admitted  to  an  audi- 
ence, "  she  communed  with  him  of  all  that  was 
in  her  heart.  And  Solomon  told  her  all  her 
questions :  there  was  not  any  thing  hid  from  the 
King  that  he  told  her  not." 

Perhaps  the  best  comment  upon  Solomon's 
greatness  is  the  simple  Scripture  record  of  this 
interview.  This  Queen  was  the  sovereign  of 
one  of  the  richest  countries,  even  of  Sheba.  She 
was  a  person  of  no  ordinary  acquisitions  in 
knowledge  and  wisdom.  She  came  not  merely 
to  see  the  magnificence  of  the  palace,  and  the 
manners  of  the  court,  but  to  obtain  from  this 
master-spirit  the  solution  of  all  her  perplexing 


248  THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS. 

questions.  How  striking  the  result  upon  her 
mind — though  trained  amidst  the  profusion  of 
earthly  glory  in  her  court  at  Sheba — "  when  she 
had  seen  all  Solomon's  wisdom,  and  the  house 
that  he  had  built,  and  the  meat  of  his  table,  and 
the  sitting  of  his  servants,  and  the  attendance 
of  his  ministers,  and  their  apparel,  and  his  cup- 
bearers, and  his  ascent  by  which  he  went  up  to  the 
house  of  the  LORD,  there  was  no  more  spirit  hi 
her.  And  she  said  unto  the  King,  It  was  a  true 
report  that  I  heard  in  mine  own  land  of  thine 
acts  and  of  thy  wisdom  ;  and  behold  the  half 
was  not  told  me."  To  whom  does  she  ascribe  the 
honor  of  all  this  wisdom  and  magnificence  ? 
Does  she  flatter  Solomon,  or  give  him  the  praise 
of  his  architectural  achievements  ?  Does  she 
look  upon  his  wisdom  as  self-attained,  and  give 
him  the  personal  honor  of  all  his  acquisitions  ? 
Does  she  burn  incense  to  genius,  and  present 
her  offering  at  the  shrine  of  human  wisdom  ? 
Verily,  no  !  "  Blessed  be  the .  LORD  thy  God, 
which  delighted  in  thee,  to  set  thee  on  the  throne 
of  Israel :  because  the  LORD  loved  Israel  for- 
ever, therefore  made  He  thee  king  to  do  justice 
and  judgment."  The  conduct  of  the  Queen  of 
Sheba  is  the  best  illustration  of  the  principle  for 
which  we  contend  throughout  this  treatise.  She 
admired  the  works  of  Solomon  as  highly  as  her 
mental  constitution  would  admit.  She  admired 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       249 

the  genius  by  which  they  had  been  contrived 
and  constructed.  But  she  admired  most  of  all, 
nay,  adored,  the  blessed  God  of  Israel,  by  whose 
Spirit  that  genius  was  inspired,  and  by  whose 
providence  these  riches  were  provided,  and  thus 
presented  in  their  forms  of  magnificence  and 
beauty. 

This  feeling  was  common  to  the  ancients.  The 
worshippers  of  the  true  God,  and  the  worship- 
pers of  heathen  idols,  were  wont  to  ascribe 
peculiar  manifestations  of  genius  to  a  Divine' 
source.  The  poets  invoked  the  muses,  and  war- 
riors presented  their  sacrifices  to  propitiate  fic- 
titious deities.  Shall  Christianity  alone  discard 
the  recognition  of  God  from  the  gifts  He  com- 
municates ?  The  inspirations  of  genius,  as  re- 
vealed, and  the  operations  of  genius,  as  recorded 
in  the  Bible,  clearly  prove  that  it  is  a  special 
gift,  which  God  in  His  supremacy  bestows  upon 
whom  He  will,  for  the  accomplishment  of  His 
designs.  It  is  a  reflected  light,  which  centres 
in  the  fountain  of  infinite  'wisdom — the  source 
of  all  that  is  beautiful,  and  true,  and  beneficent 
in  nature  and  in  art. 

- 

"  Say,  why  was  roan  so  eminently  raised 
Amid  the  vast  creation ;  why  ordain'd 
Through  life  and  death  to  dart  his  piercing  eye, 
With  thoughts  beyond  the  limits  of  his  frame ; 
But  that  the  Omnipotent  might  send  him  forth, 
In  sight  of  mortal  and  immortal 
11* 


250       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

As  on  a  boundless  theatre,  to  ran 
The  great  career  of  justice ;  to  exalt 
His  generous  aim  to  all  diviner  deeds." 

Some  may  be  ready  to  found  an  objection 
against  the  general  theory  deduced  from  this 
species  of  inspiration,  upon  the  testimony  of  So- 
lomon, when  describing  all  such  achievements 
as  characterized  by  vanity.  "  I  have  seen  all 
the  works  that  are  done  under  the  sun,  and  be- 
hold all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit."  Again, 
the  decline  of  Solomon's  piety  may  be  ascribed 
by  some  to  his  occupation  with  these  works  of 
science,  art,  and  literature.  Of  this  cause  there 
is  no  indication  in  the  sacred  narrative.  As  to 
the  origin  of  his  apostacy  the  Bible  is  explicit. 
He  yielded  not  obedience  to  his  own  maxim.  He 
ceased  to  rejoice  with  the  wife  of  his  youth  ;  and 
having  loved  idolaters,  their  influence  over  him 
alienated  his  affections  from  the  true  God. 
Though  these  works  were  characterized  as 
vanity,  there  was  no  condemnation  of  any  of 
those  legitimate  pursuits  in  which  he  had  been 
engaged.  It  is  evident  that  while  he  was  most 
occupied,  tlte  current  of  his  piety  ran  deepest. 
It  was  only  when  his  ardor  in  the  service  of  God 
had  somewhat  abated,  and  when  his  studies  had 
been  supplanted  by  ease  and  indulgence,  that 
his  piety  declined.  Besides,  his  record  of  embit- 
tered experieno^may  bo  viewed  as  an  evangelical 


THEOLOGY   OF  INVENTIONS.  251 

reflection  upon  the  relation  between  the  immor- 
tal soul  and  the  most  exalted  of  creature  com- 
forts. If  any  descendent  of  Adam  could  possibly 
realize  happiness  in  temporal  things,  Solomon 
had  the  best  opportunity  ever  afforded.  But 
the  wildest  range — the  fullest  cup  of  creature 
comforts,  viewed  apart  from  God,  is  utterly  in- 
sufficient to  confer  happiness. 

"  Attempt  how  vain — 

With  things  of  earthly  sort,  with  aught  but  God, 
"With  aught  but  moral  excellence,  truth,  and  love, 
To  satisfy  and  fill  the  immortal. soul!" 
This  is  the  attempt : 
"  To  satisfy  the  ocean  with  a  drop ; 
To  marry  immortality  to  death ; 
And  with  the  unsubstantial  shade  of  time 
To  fill  the  embrace  of  all  eternity." — POLLOK. 

The  argument,  as  hitherto  pursued,  has  been 
illustrated  by  reference  to  special  and  peculiar 
cases.  These  cases,  however,  though  beyond 
the  ordinary  capabilities  of  man,  embrace  the 
common  operations  of  the  human  mind,  and  the 
ordinary  application  of  human  knowledge  to 
material  things.  The  great  difference  is  in  the 
degree  of  skill  and  knowledge  brought  into 
operation.  There  is  another  point  of  difference 
— the  fact  that  they  are  historically  associated 
with  the  development  of  the  plan  of  redemption. 
Legislators,  such  as  Moses,  the  Elders,  Saul, 
David,  and  Solomon,  were  raised  up  in  immediate 
relation  to  the  Church  of  Israel.  Artisans, 


252       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

such  as  Bezaleel,  and  Aholiab,  and  Hiram,  were 
specially  prepared  for  the  construction  of  Di- 
vinely-planned sanctuaries,  to  be  dedicated  to 
holy  purposes.  Warriors,  such  as  Othniel,  and 
Gideon,  and  Jephtha,  and  Samson,  and  David, 
were  chosen  deliverers  of  a  chosen  people.  Con- 
sequently, the  inference  is  fallaciously  drawn, 
that  it  is  only  in  such  peculiar  cases  that  we  can 
expect  extraordinary  gifts,  or  that  we  ought  to 
recognize  the  outgoings  of  the  Spirit  of  God  as 
a  ruling  and  guiding  Spirit  in  the  moral  go- 
vernment of  Jehovah.  Is  not  this  to  set  limits 
upon  the  Holy  One,  and  to  confine  the  Provi- 
dence of  God  to  special  cases  related  to  the 
Church  instead  of  embracing  the  circumstances 
of  the  Church  in  the  universal  plan,  and  viewing 
the  government  of  God  as  directing  the  whole 
with  a  reference  to  His  own  glory  in  her  complete 
development  ?  This  is  also  to  draw  a  line  of 
distinction  between  great  and  little  events, 
founded  upon  our  local  conceptions  of  moral  and 
physical  relations  among  the  creatures.  But 
the  whole  world  has  a  relation  to  the  universe, 
and  to  the  Moral  Governor.  The  whole  family 
of  man  has  a  physical  relation  to  the  world,  and 
a  moral  relation  to  God,  by  whom  both  were 
created.  The  "principalities  and  powers"  of 
the  world  have  a  relation  to  the  Divine  govern- 
ment, and  are  made  subservient  to  the  Divine 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       253 

purposes.  The  Church  has  a  relation  to  huma- 
nity, to  civil  institutions,  and  to  the  Divine  do- 
minion. The  family  institute  has  a  relation  to 
the  Church,  to  the  state,  and  to  the  moral 
dominion  of  God.  Each  individual  has  a  relation 
to  all  these  ;  consequently  nothing  that  transpires 
in  the  universe  can  be  unimportant  to  the  Moral 
Governor,  nor  to  the  various  parties  within  the 
range  of  that  government.  Science  and  art,  or 
the  knowledge  of  physical  things,  and  the  capa- 
bility to  use  them,  have  a  relation  to  every  man 
personally,  and  to  all  men  socially,  as  respects 
the  means  of  sustenance,  the  enjoyment  of  phy- 
sical comfort,  and  the  progress  of  mental  devel- 
opment. Science  and  art  have  a  relation  to 
God,  inasmuch  as  they  expound  His  attributes, 
and  show  forth  the  riches  of  His  kingdom.  It 
is  no  degradation  of  Deity  in  our  conceptions, 
to  behold  Him  producing  and  conducting  physi- 
cal and  mental  operations  in  the  artificial,  as 
well  as  in  the  natural  world.  If  the  comfort  and 
happiness  of  His  creatures  are  not  beneath  the 
condescension  of  His  love,  the  means  by  which 
these  may  be  promoted  are  certainly  not  beyond 
the  compass  of  His  wisdom,  or  the  grasp  of  His 
power.  Why,  then,  should  any  display  of  Di- 
vine beneficence  in  the  history  of  His  creatures 
be  overlooked  and  disregarded  ? 

It  is  true  that  those  special  dispensations  and 


254       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

peculiar  gifts,  which  are  recorded  in  the  Bible, 
stand  in  near  relation  to  the  Church  and  the 
exhibition  of  the  plan  of  mercy.  Are  all 
other  dispensations  of  providence,  besides  those 
recorded,  or  such  as  may  be  in  the  same 
category,  to  be  treated  as  common  ;  nay,  as  the 
operation  or  acts  of  the  creature  only  ?  Would 
not  this  be  an  exclusion  of  God  from  His  own 
dominion  ?  The  acts  of  the  Kedeemer  to  which 
John  refers,  as  not  recorded,  are  not  less  Divine 
than  those  which  have  obtained  a  place  in  the 
sacred  narrative.  In  like  manner,  the  dispen- 
sations of  providence  relating  to  the  world,  and 
to  the  history  of  humanity  in  the  world,  are  as 
really  Divine  as  any  recorded  in  connexion  with 
the  history  of  His  Church.  But  this  is  a  doc- 
trine, not  merely  to  be  inferred  from  the  Divine 
testimony  regarding  His  moral  government,  but 
a  doctrine  explicitly  stated  by  the  prophet 
Isaiah,*  in  which  God  is  represented  as  the  au- 
thor of  agricultural  skill,  and  also  of  the  ordinary 
farming  implements. 

"Give  ye  ear,  and  hear  my  voice;  hearken,  and  hear  my 
speech, 

Doth  the  plowman  plow  all  day  to  sow  ?  Doth  he  open  and 
break  the  clods  of  his  ground  ? 

When  he  hath  made  plain  the  face  thereof, 

Doth  he  not  cast  abroad  the  fitches,  arnd  scatter  the  cum- 
min, 

*  Chapter  xxviii.  23-30. 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  255 

And  cast  in  the  principal  wheat  and  the  appointed  barley,  and 
the  rye  in  their  place? 

For  Ms  God  doth  instruct  him  to  discretion,  and  doth  teach 
him. 

For  the  fitches  are  not  threshed  with  a  threshing  instru- 
ment, 

Neither  is  a  cart  wheel  turned  about  upon  the  cummin ; 

But  the  fitches  are  beaten  out  with  a  staff,  and  the  cummin 
with  a  rod. 

Bread  corn  is  bruised ;  because  he  will  not  ever  be  thresh- 
ing it, 

Nor  break  it  with  the  wheel  of  his  cart ;  nor  bruise  it  with 
his  horsemen. 

This  also  cometh  forth  from  the  LORD  of  hosts 

Which  is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working.'1'1 


This  passage  is  so  direct  and  explicit,  that  it 
requires  no  comment  when  adduced  in  proof  of 
the  whole  theory  propounded  in  the  preceding 
chapters.  The  simple  reading  of  the  text,  will 
convince  any  mind  believing  in  Bible  truth,  that 
the  works  of  art  were  emanations  of  Deity.  The 
man  who  will  deny  the  fact  in  face  of  this  testi- 
mony, must  be  prepared  to  deny  the  existence 
of  God,  and  to  reject  that  revelation  which  un- 
folds His  character.  This  is  a  testimony  to  the 
minute  care  with  which  the  moral  Governor 
watches  over  the  lives  and  actions  of  His  crea- 
tures. The  Spirit  here  selects  the  simplest 
efforts  of  human  skill,  to  "  subdue  the  earth/' 
and  He  shows  that  even  these  elementary  prin- 
ciples of  agricultural  genius  must  be  tfaced  to 
the  fountain  of  infinite  wisdom.  By  beginning 


256       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS, 

thus,  with  the  simpler  arts,  would  He  not  teach 
us  that  God  is  the  author  of  all  ?  If  the  plough- 
ing, sowing,  reaping,  and  threshing  out  of  the 
grain  by  the  simplest  Oriental  implements  be  of 
God  ;  on  what  principle,  shall  Divine  wisdom, 
power,  and  goodness  be  excluded  from  the  com- 
plicated machinery  of  modern  "husbandry  ?  If 
the  communication  of  knowledge  and  wisdom 
and  power  be  derived  from  God,  in  conducting 
the  concerns  of  a  farm,  is  it  not  equally,  nay, 
more  clearly  manifest  in  the  complex  machinery 
of  the  workshop,  and  the  factory — in  short,  of 
all  that  obtains  a  place  in  the  region  of  artificial 
phenomena  ?  If  the  common  flail  or  staff,  the 
drag,  the  threshing-wain,  and,  even  the  tramp- 
ling hoofs  of  oxen,  as  employed  by  the  Orientals 
in  separating  the  grain  from  the  straw,  led  the 
prophet  to  adore  the  LOUD  of  hosts,  as  "  won- 
derful in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working," 
shall  those  upon  whom  the  light  of  the  Gospel 
has  risen,  become  obscure  in  their  views  of  God's 
special  providence  ?  Shall  the  increase  of  know- 
ledge make  men  so  far  forgetful  of  God  that 
mechanical  inventions  will  only  elicit  the  wor- 
ship of  genius  ? 

If  these  simpler  operations  and  implements 
moved  the  mind  of  the  ancient  prophet,  shall 
magnetism  and  steam,  and  electricity  excite  no 
sense  of  gratitude  to  the  God  of  Providence  ? 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  257 

If  the  sight  of  a  plough,  and  the  lowing  of  the 
oxen,  and  the  sound  of  the  flail,  drew  forth 
these  sublime  and  pious  acknowledgments  of 
God,  shall  the  spinning-mill,  the  power-loom, 
the  steam-ship,  the  railway,  and  the  electric 
telegraph,  elicit  no  glory  to  the  LORD  of  hosts 
who  is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in 
working.  God  forbid,  that  with  the  rapid  de- 
velopment of  the  world's  resources — the  expan- 
sion of  knowledge — the  extension  of  commerce 
— the  increase  of  national  wealth — the  multipli- 
cation of  the  means  of  personal  and  social  com- 
fort— we  should  become  so  far  atheistic  as  to 
forget  or  deny  the  Author  of  every  blessing  ! 
With  the  Bible  doctrine  of  a  presiding  and 
directing  providence  so  clearly  revealed,  shall  we 
become  the  worshippers  of  mammon  or  bow 
down  to  genius,  or  sound  the  note  of  praise  to 
national  enterprize  ?  Shall  the  discoveries  in 
science,  and  the  inventions  of  art  tend  only  to 
lead  this  highly  favored  generation  away  from 
God?  Shall  the  mitigation  of  the  physical 
curse  only  tend  to  produce  fresh  acts  of  rebellion 
against  the  supremacy  of  the  moral  Governor  ? 
Let  it  not  bey  is  the  warning  voice  of  inspira- 
tion !  Let  it  not  be,  is  the  solemn  response  of 
enlightened  reason  !  Let  it  not  be,  is  the  testi- 
mony of  God  engraven  at  once  upon  the  mental 
and  artificial  phenomena  of  the  world.  To  be 


258  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

guilty  of  such  ingratitude  would  degrade  the 
civilized  nations  below  the  scale  of  heathendom. 
The  bards  oft  Greece  and  Home  celebrated  the 
praises  of  their  fictitious  deities — the  supposed 
sources  of  wealth — the  patrons  of  agriculture,  of 
science,  of  art,  and  of  war.  Shall  Christian 
nations  withhold  from  the  "  Father  of  lights — 
the  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift,"  that 
homage  which  the  heathen  world  accords  to 
imaginary  deities  ?  Nay,  rather  let  us  plant 
our  foot  upon  the  firm  foundation  of  a  special 
providence.  Let  us  see  as  of  old,  the  operations 
of  the  Spirit  revealed  in  this  or  that  aspect  of 
human  genius.  Let  us  receive  every  useful  in- 
vention as  a  special  gift  of  the  bountiful  Bene- 
factor. Then  shall  we  feel  that  "  God  is  in  the 
heavens,  in  the  earth,  and  in  the  sea."  Then 
shall  His  steps  of  infinite  majesty  appear  in  the 
mighty  deep,  and  on  the  swelling  tide  of  human 
history.  Then  shall  the  traces  of  omnipotence 
be  seen  inscribed  upon  every  mechanical,  as 
really  as  upon  every  natural  object.  Then  shall 
it  be  felt  that  God's  presence  is  not  confined  to 
consecrated  temples  or  hallowed  shrines  ;  nor 
the  homage  which  he  justly  claims,  to  the  stated 
worship  of  the  Sabbath  or  the  sanctuary.  While 
heaven  is  His  throne,  and  earth  His  footstool ; 
angels  and  men,  in  all  the  busy  walks  of  life, 
are  but  His  agents.  Consequently,  amidst  the 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  259 

revolving  wheels  of  the  factory — the  sounding 
hammers  of  the  workshop — the  rushing  car- 
riages of  the  railway,  and  the  trembling  vi- 
brations of  the  electric  telegraph,  'the  Divine 
presence  may  be  seen  and  felt  as  really  as  when 
reflected  by  the  sublimest  objects  of  natural 
scenery.  To  the  devout  philosopher,  the  pious 
mechanic,  and  the  Christian  operative,  the  vari- 
ous works  of  art  must  appear  as  the  spontaneous 
emanations  of  infinite  wisdom,  and  the  standing 
monuments  of  boundless  beneficence. 

Were  we  heaven-taught,  as  we  might  have 
been,  with  the  Bible  for  our  guide,  we  would 
discover  by  a  spiritual  intuition,  that  the  natural, 
the  intellectual,  and  the  moral,  are  but  three 
concentric  spheres  of  which  God  is  the  'author ; 
in  and  over  every  department  of  which  Divine 
sovereignty  and  glory  are  peculiarly  displayed. 
Consequently,  that  which  holds  true  of  the  uni- 
verse— that  "  without  Him  was  not  any  thing 
made  that  was  made,"  is  also  true  of  the  entire 
region  of  artificial  phenomena.  The  genius 
that  contrived,  the  skill  that  formed,  and  the 
materials  out  of  which  every  invention  was  con- 
^structed,  furnish  no  exception  to  this  universal 
announcement.  That  propriety  which  Grod  as 
Creator  claims  over  the  artificer  in  iron,  is  ap- 
plicable to  every  constructor  of  machinery. 
"  Behold,  I  have  created  the  smith  that  bloweth 


260       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

the  coals  in  the  fire,  and  that  bringeth  forth  an 
instrument  for  his  work,  and  I  have  created  the 
waster  to  destroy."  The  artisan  that  forges  the 
sword  of  destruction,  the  iron  of  which  it  is 
formed,  and  the  hand  that  wields  it,  are  but 
different  instruments  employed  by  the  Grod  of 
providence  to  avenge  His  quarrel.  If  this  be 
true  regarding  the  weapons  of  war,  is  it  not 
equally  true  of  those  inventions  which  confer  in- 
numerable blessings  upon  the  family  of  man  ? 
And  is  it  not  evident  if  they  are  God's,  to 
Him  redounds  the  glory,  whosoever  may  be  em- 
ployed to  discover  their  elementary  principles, 
or  to  adjust  their  due  proportions  ? 

However  vast  may  be  the  expansion  of  mind 
in  the  contemplation  of  nature,  there  is  here 
also  a  source  of  mental  elevation  when  behold- 
ing the  rude  elements  of  her  material  system  re- 
modelled in  innumerable  forms  of  utility  and 
beauty.  In  not  a  few  cases  the  inanimate 
elements  are  presented  as  the  very  automatons  of 
active  life  ;  doing  man's  work  and  increasing 
general  comfort.  Nothing  in  science  or  art  is 
so  humble  as  to  be  unworthy  of  notice,  nor  so 
simple,  if  viewed  in  a  believing  spirit,  as  not  to 
afford  profitable  lessons.  The  fact  that  God  has 
made  provision  in  nature  for  its  production,  and 
in  due  time  created  the  reflecting  agent  to  ad- 
just its  proportions,  is  sufficient  to  invest  it  with 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  261 

a  permanent  interest.  As'  a  mere  machine,  it 
is  associated  with  a  living  agent,  by  whom  its 
symmetry  was  evolved.  That  moral  agent  is  asso- 
ciated with  a  still  higher  intelligence — even 
with  the  Author  of  the  universe.  Of  all  that  is 
sublime  in  nature,  the  mind  of  man  is  the  most 
exalted.  Though  now  a  ruin,  it  bears  evidence 
of  its  original  glory.  Even  as  fallen,  it  exhibits 
some  of  the  remaining  rays  of  Divine  efful- 
gence. 

"Search,  undismayed,  the  dark  profound, 
Where  Nature  works  in  secret ;  view  the  beds 
Of  mineral  treasure,  and  the  eternal  vault 
That  bounds  the  hoary  ocean ;  trace  the  forms 
Of  atoms,  moving  with  incessant  change, 
Their  elemental  round ;  behold  the  seeds 
Of  being,  and  the  energy  of  life 
Kindling  the  mass  with  ever  active  flame ; 
Then  to  the  secrets  of  the  working  mind 
Attentive  turn ;  from  dim  oblivion  call 
Her  fleet  ideal  band ;  and  bid  them  go 
Break  through  time's  barrier,  and  o'ertake  the  hour 
That  saw  the  heavens  created.     Then  declare, 
If  aught  were  found  in  these  external  scenes 
To  move  thy  wonder  now." — AKENSIDE. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


INQUIRY  REGARDING  THE  SOURCE  OP  THAT  DIFFERENCE  OF 
CONCEPTION  WITH  WHICH  THE  MIND  IS  WONT  TO  VIEW  THE 
WORKS  OF  NATURE  AS  COMPARED  WITH  MECHANICAL  IN- 
VENTIONS. 


THE  source  of  that  difference  of  feeling  with 
which  man  contemplates  artificial,  as  contrasted 
with  natural  phenomena,  becomes  an  important 
subject  of  inquiry.  Having  proved  that  both 
are  of  God,  and  that  both  are  designed  to  re- 
flect the  Divine  glory  ;  how  is  it,  that  in  the  one, 
God  is  almost  universally  acknowledged,  while 
in  the  other  he  is  almost  as  universally  disre- 
garded ?  How  is  it  that  even  the  Bible  student 
— absorbed  .though  he  may  be  with  the  wonders 
of  redemption — can  yet  overlook  any  department 
of  the  works  of  God,  or  mentally  exclude  the 
Deity  from  the  walks  of  science,  or  the  achieve- 
ments of  art  ?  Whence  that  apathy  of  the  me- 
chanic, which  leads  him  to  contemplate  with 
indifference  those  manifestations  of  wisdom  and 
goodness,  which  are  brought  to  light  by  the  in- 
vestigations of  philosophy,  and  made  to  minister 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  263 

to  human  comfort  by  the  inventions  of  art  ? 
How  is  it  that  a  cascade  or  a  boiling  fountain 
— a  burning  volcano  or  an  eddying  whirlpool — 
a  deep  defile  or  a  towering  mountain — a  bril- 
liant star  or  a  glowing  worm — a  blazing  sun  or 
a  shining  pearl — will  tend  at  once  to  lift  the 
meditative  soul  to  God  ?  And  yet  the  same  in- 
dividual— be  he  peasant  or  philosopher — may 
be  conducted  through  the  most  intricate  and 
beautiful  works  of  art,  and  recognize  not  that 
God  is  there  !  He  may  admire  the  complicated 
machinery  of  the  spinning-mill,  with  its  thou- 
sands of  revolving  wheels  and  belts  and  shafts 
and  spindles — he  may  survey  the  mighty  engine 
standing  at  majestic  distance,  propelling  them 
all,  in  their  complex  and  reflex  revolutions,  as 
if  moved  at  will  by  some  master  spirit  of  irre- 
sistible authority — he  may  stand  upon  the  beach 
and  behold  the  gallant  ship  dashing  through  the 
angry  surf,  or  breasting  the  mountain  billow, 
propelled  by  the  same  artificial  power  of  steam 
-he  may  mark  the  rapid  progress  of  the  rail- 
way train  as  dragged  at  will  by  the  breathing 
locomotive — he  may  recognise  the  presence  of 
the  mimic  lightning,  noiselessly  receiving  its 
message,  and  ascending  with  trembling  footsteps 
the  wiry  path-way  to  distant  continents — you 
may  show  him  the  products  of  mechanical  skill 
— inventions  of  every  description — from  the 


264       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

agricultural  implements  of  savage  life  to  the 
draining,  watering,  reaping,  threshing,  steam- 
propelling  instruments  of  a  model  farm — you 
may  include  naval  architecture,  from  the  wicker 
skin-covered  coracle  of  the  ancient  Druid,  to  the 
British  man-of-war  or  steam-propelled  fleet — 
you  may  rise  in  the  survey  from  the  Oriental 
maiden's  distaff,  to  the  princely  merchant's 
spinning-mill — nay,  you  may  traverse  the  nave, 
the  galleries,  and  the  suburbs  of  this  world's 
"  Palace  of  Industry,"  and  yet  not  hear  one  note 
of  response  to  the  devotional  announcement  of 
the  prophet,  "  this  also  cometh  forth  from  the 
LORD  of  hosts,  which  is  wonderful  in  counsel 
and  excellent  in  working;"  nor  one  expression 
of  sympathy  with  the  apocalyptic  elders  as  seen 
by  John,  casting  their  crowns  at  the  feet  of  Him 
who  sat  upon  the  throne,  exclaiming  in  holy 
ecstacy,  "  Thou  art  worthy,  0  LORD,  to  receive 
glory,  and  honor,  and  power,  for  Thou  hast 
created  att  things,  and  for  Thy  glory  they  are 
and  were  created  !" 

For  this  difference  of  feeling  in  the  review  of 
mechanical  inventions,  as  contrasted  with  natu- 
ral objects,  many  reasons  might  be  adduced  and 
largely  illustrated  from  human  experience. 
Every  mind  might  present  some  new  phase  of 
the  subject,  though  all  may  be  traced  to  one 
source— the  natural  atheism  of  depraved  hu- 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  265 

manity.  That  God  is  dishonored  by  mental 
exclusion  from  any  department  of  His  works, 
must  be  apparent  to  every  reflecting  mind. 
Hence,  before  concluding  the  arguments  already 
presented,  the  following  reasons  are  assigned  as 
some  of  the  more  prominent  in  leading  to  the 
practical  denial  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
God:- 

FIRST — THE  HUMAN  MIND  RECOGNIZES  IN  NATU- 
RAL PHENOMENA  THE  IMMEDIATE  CREATIONS 
OF  DEITY,  WHILE  IT  BEHOLDS  IN  MECHANICAL 
INVENTIONS,  THE  PRODUCTIONS  OF  GENIUS. 

This  difference  of  conception  arises  not  simply 
from  that  disparity  which  must  ever  exist,  be- 
tween the  works  of  God,  and  those  of  the  most 
exalted  of  His  creatures.  We  admit  the  con- 
trast, and  hold  that  the  mind  must  be  atheistic, 
indeed,  that  cannot,  or  rather  will  not  recognize 
the  impress  of  the  Divine  hand  upon  the  stu- 
pendous works  of  nature.  The  experience  of 
David  meets  a  response  in  every  bosom,  in  which 
reason  has  not  been  completely  perverted,  when 
beholding  the  wonderful  works  of  Deity,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  firmament  sheweth  His  handy- 
work."  In  the  least — if  we  can  pronounce  upon 
magnitude,  where  creative  power  alone  operates 
— as  well  as  in  the  greatest  the  presence  and 
12 


266       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

power  of  God  are  distinctly  visible.  The  ephe- 
meral insect,  fluttering  in  the  sunbeam,  pro- 
claims the  divinity  of  its  Author  as  much  as  the 
soaring  eagle,  borne  aloft  upon  his  untiring 
pinions,  beyond  the  reach  of  human  vision,  in 
the  azure  vault  of  heaven.  The  animalculee, 
whose  ocean  is  a  single  drop  from  the  stagnant 
pool,  declares  by  its  existence,  that  the  life  giv- 
ing God  is  there,  as  really,  as  the  mighty  levi- 
athan, whose  watery  habitation  and  store-house 
encircle  the  globe.  The  molecule  of  light,  as 
truly  as  the  blazing  sun,  reflects  the  glory  of 
Him  who  dispelled  chaotic  darkness  by  the 
word  of  His  power.  And,  what  is  true  of  one 
is  true  of  all  the  productions  of  creative  energy. 
Regarding  the  whole  of  these,  the  reason  of  the 
philosopher  responds  to  the  faith  of  the  Chris- 
tian while  exclaiming  with  gratitude — 

"  My  Father  made  them  all." 

This  clearly  proves,  that  it  is  not  mere  mag- 
nitude, nor  apparent  utility,  which  produces 
disparity  of  feeling  in  the  contemplation  of  na- 
tural as  contrasted  with  artificial  phenomena. 
Neither  is  it  the  wonderful  mechanism  of  the 
former,  as  compared  with  the  latter,  that  gives 
rise  to  pious  emotions  in  reviewing  nature,  while 
the  review  of  inventions  is  calculated  to  excite 
only  speculative  ideas  regarding  commerce  and 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       267 

profit.  It  seems  that  this  disparity  arises  partly 
from  the  association  of  ideas  with  them,  as  the 
productions  of  different  agents.  In  the  natural 
world  the  hand  of  God  is  seen  directly  and  ex- 
clusively. The  history  of  creation  exhibits  these 
objects  as  formed  before  man  had  a  being  ;  hence 
they  are  associated  in  human  conception,  with 
Divine  attributes.  In  the  artificial  phenomena 
of  the  world,  the  hand  of  man  is  seen  inclusively 
and  proximately,  consequently,  overlooking  the 
Author  of  the  artisan,  and  the  work  of  art  pro- 
duced, the  mind  is  ready  to  associate  inventions 
with  man  entirely,  and  to  exclude  from  its  con- 
ceptions the  perfections  of  Deity.  Forgetful  of 
the  universal  Proprietor,  mental  associations  are 
connected  with  the  immediate  object,  and  the 
proximate  agent  by  which  it  has  assumed  its 
present  form,  rather  than  with  the  original 
elements,  and  the  powers  of  genius  in  their  re- 
lation to  the  Creator  of  both.  There  is  thus  a 
mental  transference  of  the  invention  from  God, 
the  primary  cause  of  its  existence,  to  man  the 
immediate  agent  employed  in  its  construction. 
Thus,  the  steam-engine  is  associated  with  the 
genius  of  Watt,  while  the  relations  to  God  of  the 
iron  and  brass — the  water  and  the  coal — the 
mental  faculties  and  skilful  hands — are  com- 
pletely forgotten.  It  is  thus,  that  in  the  mental 
separation  of  the  artificial,  from  the  natural 


268       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

phenomena,  there  is  a  separation  of  all  associated 
ideas,  and  this  separation  extends  to  the  Author 
as  well  as  to  the  objects.  In  consequence  of 
this,  there  is  a  corresponding  transference  of  the 
glory  which  is  due  to  God,  to  the  creature  em- 
ployed and  qualified  as  an  agent  in  accomplishing 
the  Divine  purposes.  This  has  given  rise  to  the 
atheistic  adage — 

"God  made  the  country,  but  man  made  the  town" — 

while  it  is  evident  that  nothing  can  possibly  be 
exhibited  in  the  erection  of  the  town,  but  the 
elements  of  which  have  been  provided  in  the 
country,  and  no  skill  or  genius  can  be  displayed 
but  such  as  God  has  communicated.  "  The  earth 
is  the  LORD'S  and  the  fulness  thereof,  the  world 
and  they  that  dwell  therein." 

SECOND THERE    IS    AN     INNATE      TENDENCY    IN 

DEPRAVED  HUMANITY,  TO  EXCLUDE  THE  IDEA 
OF  GOD  THE  FIRST  CAUSE,  WHEREVER  REASON 
CAN  DISCERN  THE  OPERATION  OF  AN  INTEL- 
LIGENT PROXIMATE  CAUSE. 

The  original  error  of  Adam  is  oft  repeated  by 
his  posterity.  He  turned  for  happiness  from 
the  Author  of  his  being,  to  the  subjects  of  his 
dominion — from  the  Creator  of  all  his  comforts, 
to  the  creature,  denied  in  infinite  wisdom.  This 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  269 

is  the  radical  error  of  all  his  fallen  descendants. 
The  more  of  human  reason  there  is  displayed  in 
any  object,  the  less  is  God,  the  Author,  of  reason 
recognized.  "  The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart, 
no  God."  Under  a  sense  of  guilt,  and  a  conse- 
quent dread  of  punishment,  yet  resolved  to 
gratify  his  depraved  lusts  and  appetites,  the  de- 
sire of  the  heart,  rather  than  the  conviction  of 
the  understanding  is,  that  there  were  no  God. 
And,  it  is  not  in  the  moral  world  only  that  the 
unrenewed  soul  would  seek  to  dethrone  Jehovah. 
It  would,  if  possible,  banish  every  trace  of  God 
from  the  universe.  The  carnal  mind  would 
willingly  exclude  Deity  from  the  moral  world, 
as  it  has  practically  done  from  the  natural  and 
artificial ;  because,  if  convictions  of  the  presence 
of  God  be  retained,  in  association  with  any  de- 
partment of  His  works,  it  is  impossible  to  ex- 
tinguish a  sense  of  responsibility.  It  is  natural 
therefore,  to  exclude  the  thoughts  of  God  from 
those  works  with  which  sinful  man  is  most  con- 
versant ;  and  especially  from  those  artificial 
works  in  the  construction  or  use  of  which  selfish- 
ness, envy,  jealousy,  and  pride,  are  the  predomi- 
nating motives.  It  would  be  difficult  for  the 
most  depraved,  to  over-reach  and  defraud,  in 
the  current  transactions  of  business,  with  appar- 
ent complacency,  if  the  presence  of  God,  even 
as  the  God  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

were  felt,  as  reflected  in  the  artificial  phenomena 
by  which  the  mechanic  or  the  operative  is  daily 
surrounded.  "No  God"  is  consequently  the 
wish,  and  no  God  is  the  unphilosophical  conclu- 
sion attained  in  the  face  of  the  clearest  evidence 
revealing  His  character.  "  It  is  thus  that  the 
atheistic  heart  makes  atheistic  logic." 

The  palpable  fallacy,  which  would  not  be  ad- 
mitted for  a  moment  in  the  simplest  chain  of 
reasoning  regarding  causation  in  the  natural 
world,  is  voluntarily  adopted  in  deciding  upon 
the  first,  and  fundamental  question  of  all  exist  - 
ence,  and  eternal  destiny.  The  denial  of  the 
existence  of  God,  or  of  His  providential  arrange- 
ments in  any  department  of  His  works  is  not  so 
much  simple  atheism,  as  antetheism.  It  is  not 
a  feeling  of  indifference  only,  in  regard  to  that 
relation  which  man  sustains  to  the  Author  of  his 
being,  but  the  risings  of  rebellion  against  the 
holy  nature,  and  righteous  claims  of  the  moral 
Governor.  Such  sceptics  cannot  think  of  God 
without  a  sense  of  actual  hatred.  Their  eyes 
are  voluntarily  closed  against  the  evidence  of 
His  existence,  because  the  fact  of  that  existence 
to  the  resolute  sinner  is  the  foreboding  of  eternal 
destruction.  The  sceptic  does  violence  at  once 
to  God,  and  to  his  own  mental  constitution. 
Because  conscience  warns  him  of  danger,  and 
reproves  him  under  a  sense  of  guilt,  he  would 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  271 

root  up  this  radical  principle  from  his  sentient 
nature.  Should  he  succeed  in  obliterating  the 
last  remnants  of  his  moral  sense,  or  even  con- 
vince himself  that  there  is  no  God,  will  he 
prove  a  more  faithful  husband,  a  more  affec- 
tionate father,  a  kinder  master,  a  better  servant, 
a  more  confidential  friend,  or  a  more  useful 
member  of  society  ?  Will  he  soar  higher  upon 
the  wings  of  genius,  than  the  believer  in  God, 
or  leave  behind  him  the  precious  ointment  of  a 
better  name  ?  The  concurrent  testimony  of 
centuries  proves  the  very  opposite.  The  sceptic, 
as  a  moral  Upas,  poisons  the  atmosphere  of  so- 
ciety, and  blights  the  last  remnants  of  human 
happiness.  How  can  it  be  otherwise  ?  As  well 
might  the  earth  expect  a  summer,  were  the  sun 
of  nature  blotted  out  from  the  universe  !  To 
reject  the  conviction  that  God  is  present,  acting 
in,  producing,  regulating,  restraining  and  over- 
ruling all  facts,  times,  persons,  and  events,  is  to 
aggravate  ten  thousand  fold  the  perplexities  and 
miseries  of  humanity.  Once  drifted  from  the 
sure  anchorage  of  faith  in  Divine  providence,  or 
the  sense  of  a  presiding  Deity,  the  human  soul 
is  tossed  like  a  shivered  bark  amidst  the  con- 
flicting elements,  without  chart  or  compass, 
helm  or  sounding  line.  To  such  an  one  crea- 
tion is  a  chaos,  and  thick  darkness  broods  in- 
cessantly over  its  fairest  scenes  of  life  and  beauty. 


272  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

The  events  of  providence  to  such  are  confusion 
worse  confounded.  What  next  ?  amid  the  ap- 
parently new  career  of  uncertainties,  is  a  ques- 
tion that  must  excite  the  deepest  anxiety.  The 
floating  clouds  of  moral  gloom  are  suspended 
upon  all  sides,  which  if  lifted  at  all,  only  admit 
a  sufficiency  of  light  to  make  the  "  blackness  of 
darkness"  visible.  This  is  no  exaggeration  of 
the  sceptic's  feeling.  The  dread  reality  could  be 
illustrated  by  the  life  and  deathbed  of  hundreds, 
who  in  the  agonies  of  violated  nature,  have 
borne  testimony  to  their  own  experience.  Thus 
David  Hume,  the  infidel  philosopher,  and  avowed 
enemy  of  all  true  religion,  recorded  the  writhings 
of  his  mental  misery. 

"  I  am  affrighted  and  confounded  with  the 
forlorn  solitude  in  which  I  am  placed  by  my 
philosophy.  When  I  look  abroad,  I  see  on  every 
side  dispute,  contradiction,  destruction.  When 
I  turn  my  eye  inward,  I  find  nothing  but  doubt 
and  ignorance.  Where  am  I  ?  or  what  ?  From 
what  cause  do  I  derive  niy^existence,  and  to 
what  condition  shall  I  return  ?  I  am  confounded 
with  these  questions,  and  begin  to  fancy  myself 
in  the  most  deplorable  condition  imaginable, 
environed  with  the  deepest  darkness."  This  ex- 
position of  infidel  experience  is  but  the  groan- 
ings  of  a  spirit  whose  elementary  principles 
have  been  violated  by  sheer  enmity  to  that  Grod 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  273 

whom  it  cannot  dethrone.  Let  another  of  the 
rebel  chiefs  be  interrogated  respecting  his 
boasted  freedom  and  mental  independence. 
"  Who/'  says  Voltaire,  "  can  without  horror 
consider  the  whole  world  as  the  empire  of  de- 
struction ?  It  abounds  with  wonders,  it  abounds 
also  with  victims.  It  is  a  vast  field  of  carnage, 
and  contagion.  Every  species  is  without  pity 
pursued  and  torn  to  pieces  through  the  earth, 
the  air,  the  water.  In  man  there  is  more 
wretchedness  than  in  all  other  animals  put  to- 
gether. He  loves  life,  and  yet  he  knows  that  he 
must  die.  This  knowledge  is  his  fatal  preroga- 
tive :  other  animals  have  it  not.  He  spends  the 
transient  moments  of  his  existence  in  diffusing 
the  miseries  which  he  suffers — cutting  the 
throats  of  his  fellow-creatures  for  pay — in  cheat- 
ing and  being  cheated — in  robbing  and  being 
robbed,  arid  in  repenting  of  all  he  does.  The 
bulk  of  mankind  are  nothing  more  than  a  crowd 
of  wretches,  equally  criminal  and  unfortunate. 
I  tremble  at  the  review  of  this  dreadful  picture 
— I  wish  I  had  never  been  born." 

These  extracts  have  been  introduced  as  faintly 
representing  the  mental  conflict,  by  which  the 
bosoms  of  the  whole  infidel  class  are  torn  through 
self-inflicted  torture.  It  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive views  more  gloomy,  out  of  the  place  of 
eternal  doom.  It  is  true  that  such  men  are 
12* 


274       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

wont  to  represent  Christianity,  or  even  the  be- 
lief of  a  God,  as  calculated  to  produce  a  sense 
of  moral  gloom.  The  theory  we  have  been  pro- 
pounding would,  in  their  estimation,  be  an 
eclipse  of  human  glory — the  suspension  of  a 
cloud  over  the  joyous  and  busy  scenes  of  human 
industry.  But  where  can  any  thing  be  found 
in  the  experience  of  the  believer  akin  to  this  ? 
Were  there  ever  lighter  hearts,  or  happier  work- 
men, than  those  who  constructed  the  Tabernacle  ? 
The  beams  of  Divinity  reflected  through  the 
genius  of  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab,  shed  a  light  upon 
the  elements  of  nature,  which  resolved  every 
problem,  and  made  the  labors  of  the  "wise- 
hearted"  artificers  joyous  and  pleasant.  Would 
not  a  similar  sense  of  the  Divine  presence  dis- 
pel the  clouds  in  which  many  of  our  modern 
mechanics  are  laboring  in  sullen  gloom  ?  And 
would  not  a  believing  trust  in  the  Grod  of  provi- 
dence enable  many  of  our  desponding  operatives, 
in  times  of  depression  and  trial,  to  say  in  the 
language  of  the  prophet,  "  Although  the  fig-tree 
shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the 
vines  ;  the  labor  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the 
fields  shall  yield  no  meat ;  the  flocks  shall  be  cut 
off  from  the  fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in 
the  stalls  ;  yet  will  I  rejoice  in  the  LORD,  I  will 
joy  in  the  G-od  of  my  salvation." 
It  is  not,  however,  with  speculative  atheism, 


THEOLOGY  OF   INVENTIONS.  275 

or  antetheism,  that  we  have  more  immediately 
to  do.  It  is  rather  with  that  practical  atheism 
which  pervades  the  human  heart — that  tendency 
to  forget  God  in  the  matters  of  common  life — 
against  which  even  the  believer  must  resolutely 
struggle.  There  is  a  disposition  to  limit  the 
presence  of  Deity  to  the  highest  heavens,  or  at 
least  to  the  sacred  sanctuaries  raised  amidst  the 
scenes  of  the  earth — an  unbelief  that  would  say 
to  the  Divine  attributes,  "Hitherto  shalt  thou 
come,  but  no  farther/'  There  is  an  expedient 
policy  which  would  freely  admit  the  Divine  pre- 
sence in  certain  peculiar  circumstances  of  a  re- 
ligious kind,  but  which  would  be  disposed  to 
say,  "  Abide  here  by  the  sanctuary,  while  I  go 
and  trade  yonder."  This  is  the  practical  atheism 
which  is  so  widely  spread  among  all  classes  in 
our  manufactories,  workshops,  and  marts  of  mer- 
chandise. Of  a  very  large  proportion  it  may 
be  said,  in  truth,  that  "  God  is  not  in  all  their 
thoughts."  How,  then,  can  they  see  His  glory  ; 
either  in  the  works  of  nature,  or  in  those  mecha- 
nical works  which  He  has  brought  into  exis- 
tence, by  the  intervention  of  man  as  a  spiritual 
agency  ? 


276  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 


THIRD — THE  MORAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE 
RESPECTIVE  AGENCIES  TEND  TO  FOSTER  THAT 
DISPARITY  OF  FEELING,  WHICH  DISPLAYS  IT- 
SELF IN  THE  CONTEMPLATION  OF  ARTIFICIAL, 
AS  CONTRASTED  WITH  NATURAL  PHENOMENA. 

In  beholding  the  works  of  nature,  the  mind 
conceives  of  a  holy  and  beneficent  Being  creat- 
ing, arranging,  and  preserving  all  for  wise  and 
holy  purposes.  But  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
most  distinguished  inventions,  the  depravity  of 
man  clings  to  His  works  in  our  mental  concep- 
tions. Viewed  historically,  also,  many  of  the 
inventions  of  men  are  constructed  from  sinful 
motives,  and  perverted  to  sinful  purposes.  The 
man  of  brilliant  genius  may  be,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  is,  a  very  wicked  man  ;  hence,  by  the  very 
association  of  ideas,  the  moral  character  of  the 
agent  is  transformed  to  the  work  of  art  pro- 
duced. In  consequence  of  this,  the  superficial 
thinker  sees  more  of  God  in  the  instinct  of  a 
humble  insect  than  in  the  most  exalted  men- 
tal powers  of  a  distinguished  genius.  Thus,  for 
example,  the  wonderful  instincts  displayed  in 
the  bee  hive  have  elicited  the  admiration  of 
heathen  poets,  and  the  highest  eulogiums  of 
Bible-taught  believers  ;  while  few  of  either  class 
seem  to  have  discovered  still  greater  wonders  in 
the  industrial  instincts  of  their  fellow-men.  Why 


THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS.  277 

is  this  ?  In  the  contemplation  of  pure  instinct, 
as  displayed  in  the  bee  hive,  the  mind  is  intui- 
tively lifted  up  to  that  God  by  whom  it  was 
implanted.  Why  are  not  similar,  yea,  sublimer, 
feelings  excited  in  surveying  a  sugar  plantation, 
where  the  works  and  designs  are  in  some 
respects  similar  ?  The  reason  is  obvious.  Here 
there  is  a  moral  eclipse  !  The  element  of  human 
depravity  is  present  in  full  development  !  The 
laborers  are  slaves.  Slaves  of  the  planter,  as 
regards  their  civil  rights,  but  worse  slaves  of 
sin,  that  bitter  plant  transmitted  through  the 
root  of  human  depravity  !  A  sense  of  their 
wrongs  as  men,  and  of  their  guilt  as  transgres- 
sors, pervades  every  thought  regarding  the  pro- 
ducts of  their  labor.  In  many  respects  their 
work  resembles  that  of  the  bees.  Both  are  ex- 
tracting the  luscious  treasures  deposited  in  the 
storehouse  of  nature.  Both  are  toiling  with  a 
view  to  personal  interest,  though,  in  the  one 
case,  every  act  is  voluntary,  with  a  view  to  en- 
joyment ;  while,  in  the  other,  it  is  the  result  of 
constraint,  arising  from  a  desire  to  avoid  a  greater 
evil.  Both  are  preparing  luxuries  for  man.  But 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  hive  there  is  no 
tyranny.  Tears  and  blood  mingle  not  with  their 
produce,  as  they  frequently  do  with  the  stores 
extracted  by  the  degraded  slave.  Their  song 
mingles  with  the  melody  of  nature,  while  joy- 


278  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

fully  hastening  from  flower  to  flower,  beneath 
the  bright  ray  of  the  summer  sun.  They  sip,  as 
necessity  requires,  their  own  sweet  nectar,  during 
the  dreary  months  of  winter.  Whereas  the  poor 
slave  too  frequently  mingles  his  sigh  with  the 
pestilential  breeze.  He  is  moved  like  a  mere 
machine,  by  propulsion  from  without,  preparing 
the  juice  of  the  sugar  cane  to  sweeten  the  Euro- 
pean cup  of  comfort,  without  knowing  the  plea- 
sure of  possessing,  or  the  luxury  of  enjoying,  the 
fruits  of  his  toil.  Besides,  in  the  happy  hive, 
there  is  no  rude  violence,  no  swearing,  no  pro- 
fane language,  no  dissipation,  no  immorality. 
It  is  far  otherwise,  not  only  with  the  benighted 
slave  in  the  toils  of  the  plantation,  but  with  the 
sons  of  boasted  freedom  in  the  factory  and  the 
workshop.  The  most  splendid  achievements  of 
art  are  too  frequently  stained  by  the  immorality 
of  the  artisan.  The  obscene  jests  and  profane 
oaths  of  our  manufactories,  not  unfrequently 
tarnish  their  brightest  ornaments  in  our  moral 
conceptions.  Now,  as  all  these  elements  of 
thought  are  combined  in  beholding  the  works 
of  art,  the  mind  insensibly  not  only  detracts 
from  the  manifestations  of  Deity  therein  exhi- 
bited, but  is  disposed  to  consider  them  as  though 
they  were  completely  separated  from  God,  their 
divine  author.  Even  the  pions  raind  is  ready 
to  yield  to  the  feeling,  that  if  a  genuine  servant 


THEOLOGY   OF    INVENTIONS.  279 

of  God  can  scarcely  occupy  a  place  in  many  of 
our  public  works,  without  his  soul  being  daily 
vexed  with  the  profane  conversation  of  his  com- 
panions in  labor,  how  can  God  Himself  be 
there  ?  But  this  is  to  overlook  the  fact  of  His 
omnipresence,  to  exclude  the  idea  of  His  univer- 
sal dominion,  and  to  forget  that  He  employs 
even  wicked  men  as  the  ministers  of  comfort 
to  humanity  ;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  Balak  and 
Balaam,  makes  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
Him. 

In  the  latter  day,  when  "  knowledge  shall  be 
increased,"  and  when  the  "  wise-hearted"  and 
the  "  willing-hearted"  shall  provoke  each  other 
to  love  and  good  works — when  "  holiness  unto 
the  LORD  shall  be  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses, 
and  every  pot  in  Jerusalem  shall  be  holy,"  then 
the  mists  of  infidelity  shall  for  ever  vanish,  and 
the  monuments  of  human  skill  shall  be  no 
longer  tarnished  by  the  rust  of  immorality. 
Every  trophy  of  genius  shall  reflect  the  glory 
of  God,  and  point  the  thoughts  of  man  to  the 
bountiful  Benefactor. 


280  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

FOUKTH — FKOM  THE  COMMON  POINT  OF  OBSERVA- 
TION, MEN  ARE  MORE  AFFECTED  BY  PROXI- 
MATE OBJECTS  ADDRESSED  TO  SENSE,  THAN  BY 
A  REMOTE  SPIRITUAL  OBJECT  ADDRESSED  TO 
FAITH. 

This  might  be  illustrated  largely  both  from 
reason  and  Kevelation.  The  atheistic  philoso- 
pher recognizes  a  certain  connexion  between 
cause  and  effect  in  nature,  though  he  admits  not 
the  same  connexion  between  the  world  and  God, 
as  the  source  of  all  causation.  He  believes  that 
fire  burns — that  light  dispels  the  deepest  dark- 
ness, but  he  believes  not  that  "  the  worlds  were 
framed  by  the  word  of  God" — that  the  original 
darkness  was  made  to  vanish  when  "  God  said, 
Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light."  Thus 
also  he  beholds  the  triumphs  of  science  and  art, 
as  the  productions  of  applied  genius  ;  while  he  is 
told  in  vain  of  that  God  by  whom  the  materials 
were  deposited  at  earth's  formation,  by  whom  the 
body  and  the  soul  of  the  artificer  were  created  at 
the  appointed  time,  and  by  whose  Spirit  that 
genius  was  inspired,  wherewith  the  forms  of 
utility  and  beauty  were  successively  evolved. 
Nor  is  this  fallacy  common  only  to  the  sceptic. 
It  pervades  the  entire  constitution  of  fallen 
humanity,  and  is  displayed  in  subjects  of  eter- 
nal importance. 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       281 

How  difficult,  at  any  time,  and  even  upon 
subjects  the  most  momentous,  to  arouse  human 
activity,  or  to  excite  personal  interest,  by  the 
strongest  appeals  to  motives  presented  only  to 
faith  ?  Tell  a  man  that  a  fire  has  broken  out 
upon  the  side  of  the  city  opposite  to  that  in 
which  he  dwells,  and  tell  him  of  the  possibility 
that  the  consuming  flames  may  reach  his  habi- 
tation in  their  dire  progress  ;  how  comparatively 
small  his  excitement,  because  the  distance  of 
the  fire,  which  he  has  not  yet  seen,  affords  hope 
of  escape.  But  let  the  same  man  see  his  nearest 
neighbor's  house  ignited,  his  fears  are  at  once 
awakened,  and  all  his  activities  put  forth  to 
avert  the  impending  danger.  Or,  to  apply  the 
same  test  in  reference  to  things  temporal  and 
spiritual,  the  burning  roof  of  a  human  dwelling 
will  present  stronger  inducements  to  activity 
upon  the  part  of  the  inmates,  than  the  fullest 
description  which  the  Bible  gives  of  the  "  worm 
that  dieth  not,  and  of  the  fire  that  shall  never 
be  quenched/'  as  the  final  portion  of  the  impeni- 
tent sinner.  And  why  is  this,  but  because  of 
the  unbelief  of  the  carnal  heart  ?  Depraved  man 
is  more  affected  by  the  temporal  calamity  ad- 
dressed to  sense,  and  in  immediate  prospect, 
than  by  the  dreadful  infliction  of  eternal  punish- 
ment, as  addressed  to  faith,  but  seemingly  far  in 
the  distance. 

H 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS, 

Thus  it  is  with  mechanical  inventions,  when 
compared  with  natural  objects.  Sense  seizes 
the  inventor,  or  the  artisan,  being  the  proximate 
agent,  glad  to  discover  an  intelligent  cause  upon 
its  own  level ;  while  faith  must  rise  above  the 
intermediate  agency  to  the  first  cause,  or  Author 
of  both  the  agent  and  his  work.  Nor  is  this 
all.  In  such  a  mental  process  the  mind  is  car- 
ried above  and  beyond  an  agent  to  whom  it 
feels  a  natural  approximation,  to  one  at  an  infi- 
nite distance,  both  natural  and  moraL  It  is 
only  the  believer  in  God  who  "  walks  by  faith, 
and  not  by  sight ; "  and,  consequently,  the  me- 
dium through  which  God  reveals  his  attributes, 
both  in  the  book  of  nature  and  the  book  of  pro- 
vidence, is  mistaken  for  himself.  Hence  the 
praise  that  is  due  to  His  name,  from  every  new 
discovery  and  mechanical  invention,  is  freely 
lavished  upon  the  intelligent  instrument  by 
whom  it  has  been  introduced  to  the  notice  of 
the  world.  As  reasonably  might  the  honor  of 
a  victory  be  ascribed  to  the  warrior's  steed,  or 
the  regal  homage  rendered  to  a  beloved  Sove- 
reign be  lavished  upon  the  state  chariot  by 
which  the  royal  personage  was  borne  through 
the  streets  of  the  capital  to  the  palace  and  the 
throne,  as  to  give  to  man,  the  created  instru- 
ment, the  honor  which  is  due  to  God  the 
Author  !  Hence,  we  infer,  that  the  enlightened 


THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS.  288 

citizen  who  worships  genius,  and  who  makes 
the  gifts  of  heaven  an  occasion  of  rebellion,  dis- 
honors God  more  than  the  degraded  Indian 
who  bows  down  to  the  dragon-fly  sporting  in  the 
sunbeam,  or  renders  homage  to  the  base  reptile 
crawling  in  the  dust  ! 

FIFTH — THE  TENDENCY  OF  HUMAN  PRIDE  IS  TO 
EXALT  THE  CREATURE,  AND  DETHRONE  THE 
CREATOR. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  pride  lay  at  the 
root  of  the  first  development  of  moral  evil  in  the 
universe.  It  entered  largely  into  the  first  temp- 
tation. "  Ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good 
and  evil."  It  has  characterized  the  whole  his- 
tory of  man's  rebellion  against  God.  It  is  the 
last  point  yielded  in  the  subjugation  of  the  soul 
by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  ;  and  all  other  ele- 
ments, it  forms  a  chief  ingredient  in  that  aliena- 
tion of  the  heart  from  God,  which  leads  man  to 
reject,  even  the  overtures  of  redeeming  love. 
That  native  pride,  which  would  dethrone  the 
Deity  in  the  moral  world,  is  equally  ready  to 
disown  him  in  the  primary  works  of  creation, 
and  in  the  progressive  emanations  of  wisdom, 
power,  cind  goodness,  as  these  are  displayed  in 
the  dispensations  of  Providence.  This  charac- 
teristic of  depraved  humanity  is  well  described 
by  the  Scottish  poet  Pollok,  when  he  says — 


284       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

"Pride,  self-adoring  pride ;  was  primal  cause 
Of  all  sin  past,  all  pain,  all  woe  to  come. 
Unconquerable  pride  ;  first,  eldest  sin, 
Great  fountain  head  of  evil !  highest  source, 
Whence  flowed  rebellion  'gainst  the  Omnipotent. 
Whence  hate  of  man,  and  all  else  ill. 
Pride  at  the  bottom  of  the  human  heart 
Lay,  and  gave  root  and  nourishment  to  all 
That  grew  above.     Great  ancestor  of  vice  1 
Hate,  unbelief,  and  blasphemy  of  God. 

Pride 

It  was  the  ever  moving,  acting  force, 
The  constant  aim,  and  the  most  thirsty  wish 
Of  every  sinner  unrenewed,  to  be 
A  God ;  in  purple,  or  in  rags  to  have 
Himself  adored." 


SIXTH — GENEBAL  NEGLECT  IN  CULTIVATING  THAT 
PIOUS  SPIEIT  OF  OBSERVATION,  WHICH  KECOG- 
NIZES  GOD  IN  EVEKY  EVENT  AND  OBJECT,  TENDS 
TO  THE  EXCLUSION  OF  THE  KECOGNITION  OF 
DEITY  IN  RELATION  TO  MECHANICAL  INVENTIONS. 

The  habit  of  spiritual  contemplation  must  be 
cherished  in  order  to  its  growth,  and  general 
application  in  viewing  the  objects  with  which 
we  are  surrounded.  In  savage  life  the  sublimest 
objects  of  nature  excite  no  perceptions  of  beauty, 
and  awake  no  feelings  of  interest,  unless  when 
associated  with  acts  of  idolatrous  worship. 
Those  scenes  of  nature  which  awake  the 
sublimest  strains  of  poetry,  and  which  elicit  the 
most  glowing  descriptions  from  the  cultivated 
tourist,  move  not  the  lethargic  soul  of  the  child 


THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS.  285 

of  ignorance.  Nor  is  this  absence  of  the  con- 
templative spirit  confined  to  the  untutored 
savage  ;  it  is  common  to  all  in  whom  the  habit 
of  observation  has  not  been  cherished.  The 
rustic,  though  surrounded  by  the  most  cultivated 
minds,  if  unaccustomed  to  reflection,  will  see 
nothing  to  admire  even  in  nature's  beauty. 

"  The  primrose  by  the  river's  brim 
A  yellow  primrose  is  to  him, 
And  it  is  nothing  more." 

It  cannot  for  a  moment  arrest  his  thought,  nor 
excite  any  peculiar  emotions.  But  to  the 
botanist  it  is  invested  with  scientific  interest. 
To  the  believing  observer  of  nature's  profusion, 
its  fragrance  and  beauty  are  calculated  to 
awaken  the  liveliest  emotions  of  gratitude  to 
that  God  who  has  constituted  the  world  not 
only  a  store-house  of  essential  provisions,  but 
also  a  floral  depository  of  beauty's  choicest 
treasures. 

The  cultivation  of  taste  invests  every  object 
with  peculiar  interest.  This  interest  once  ex- 
cited, and  associated  with  faith  in  God,  must 
necessarily  lead  the  mind  from  nature  to  the 
Author  of  all  existence  ;  and  also  from  the  tran- 
sitory operations  of  nature  to  the  embodied  acts 
of  Divine  Providence.  In  a  similar  way,  the 
sanctified  cultivation  of  science  and  art,  and  the 
pious  habit  of  viewing  mechanical  objects  in 


286       THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS. 

relation  to  the  moral  government  of  God,  and 
the  happiness  of  His  creatures,  must  necessarily 
tend  to  enlarge  our  conceptions  of  Divine  wis- 
dom, power,  and  goodness.  Were  pious  parents 
imbued  with  the  same  sense  of  the  providence 
of  God,  in  leading  their  children  through  the 
productions  of  art,  which  many  are,  in  beholding 
and  in  directing  the  youthful  mind  to  the  won- 
ders of  nature,  there  is  reason  to  hope  that  at 
no  distant  period,  the  region  of  artificial,  might 
re-echo  in  unison  with  the  world  of  natural  phe- 
nomena, proclaiming  the  presence  and  power  of 
Deity  to  every  beholder.  Then  would  all  feel 
disposed  to  respond  to  the  Psalmist,  when  lifting 
up  his  soul  in  the  contemplations  of  Divine  good- 
ness, he  exclaims,  "  Thy  works  praise  Thee,  0 
LORD,  Thy  saints  bless  Thee/' 

These  reasons  for  the  non-recognition  of  God 
in  the  works  of  art  can  furnish  no  excuse  to  the 
Bible  reader.  In  the  teachings  of  the  sacred 
volume,  every  element,  and  object,  and  creature, 
are  traced  to  God  as  their  Author,  and  to  the 
manifestation  of  the  Divine  glory  as  their  end. 
The  rightful  claim,  as  Author  of  man,  and  all 
the  works  and  wisdom  of  man,  He  will  not 
forego — the  glory  He  will  not  give  to  another. 
The  earth  replenished  with  the  descendents  of 
Adam,  the  earth  transformed  by  human  in- 
genuity— is  under  tribute  to  God  in  every  ele- 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  287 

ment,  in  every  existence,  in  every  invention,  as 
really  as  it  was  when  originally  created.  Hence 
we  infer  that  the  non-recognition  of  God,  in 
relation  to  any  object,  is  the  practical  embodi- 
ment of  infidelity ;  and  that  the  worship  of 
genius  by  a  refined  and  civilized  people  is  more 
offensive  to  the*  God  of  Eevelation  than  even  the 
superstitious  homage  which  the  benighted  na- 
tions of  heathenism  render  to  their  imaginary 
deities.  Is  it,  therefore,  any  wonder,  when  that 
God  who  sent  the  pestilence  with  the  miraculous 
provision  of  the  ungrateful  Israelites,  should  send 
at  times  increase  of  misery  with  mechanical  gifts 
to  a  people  who  will  not  so  much  as  acknowledge 
their  Author  ?  The  gift  is  not  withheld — the 
Divine  purpose  is  accomplished — but  the  inven- 
tion, like  the  world  under  the  curse,  is  restrained 
in  its  ultimate  power  to  bless,  until  the  receiver 
shall  recognize  the  beneficence  of  the  giver,  and 
until  the  benediction  of  the  moral  Governor 
shall  accompany  the  machinery  bestowed.  The 
extension  of  Scriptural  knowledge  shall  ulti- 
mately lead  to  the  universal  recognition  of  the 
claims  of  Jehovah.  When  the  way  of  the  LORD 
is  known  upon  the  earth,  and  His  saving  health 
among  the  nations,  "  Then  shall  the  earth  yield 
her  increase  ;  and  God,  even  our  God,  shall 
bless  us.  God  shall  bless  us  ;  and  all  the  ends 
of  the  earth  shall  fear  Him." 


288  THEOLOGY   OF   INVENTIONS. 

IN   CONCLUSION. 

Let  none  despise  the  sons  of  toil.  They  are  a 
part  of  the  machinery  by  which  the  beneficent 
purposes  of  God  are  accomplished.  Let  none 
be  ashamed  of  the  duties  of  his  humble  calling 
To  labor  was.  honorable  in  Paradise  before  the 
fall.  It  has  opened  up  the  path  to  honor  ever 
since,  and  shall  in  the  Providence  of  God  usher 
in  the  physical  comfort,  and  social  honors  of 
the  Millennial  world.  Let  the  operative  bless 
God  for  the  means  of  employment,  and  the  im- 
plements of  industry.  Let  the  artisan  study 
closer  the  elements  of  nature,  that  he  may  appro- 
priate and  employ  them  for  the  benefit  of  man- 
kind. Let  those  who  are  relieved  from  harassing 
labor  devote  their  leisure  hours  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  knowledge,  and  the  objects  of  philan- 
thropy. Let  genius  bow  in  reverent  homage 
to  the  God  of  infinite  wisdom  who  giveth  to  all 
men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not.  Let  none 
be  exalted  in  the  achievements  of  human  in- 
genuity. The  triumphs  of  science  are  not  the 
products  of  finite  wisdom,  but  the  revelations  of 
eternal  purposes — the  footprints  of  Omnipotence, 
upon  the  sands  of  human  existence.  The  tide 
of  popularity,  or  the  whirlpool  of  selfishness, 
may  for  a  season  seem  to  obliterate  the  primary 
impression,  but  the  world  shall  yet  discover  that 


THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS.  289 

God  was  there,  and  in  the  end  it  will  be  patent 
to  every  observer  that,  as  there  is  nothing  use- 
less in  the  kingdom  of  nature,  so  there  is  no- 
thing superfluous  or  wanting  in  the  kingdom  of 
Providence.  Even  now  it  is  evident,  to  every  re- 
flecting mind,  that  those  inventions  which  prove 
a  failure,  as  regards  the  object  of  the  artisan, 
and  which  are  not  unfrequently  the  jest  of  the 
scientific  world,  are  yet  made  subservient  to  the 
designs  of  God,  by  stirring  up  other  minds 
through  which  He  communicates  other  imple- 
ments. "  Thus  saith  the  LORD,  let  not  the  wise 
man  glory  in  his  wisdom,  neither  let  the  mighty 
man  glory  in  his  might,  let  not  the  rich  man 
glory  in  his  riches  ;  but  let  him  that  glorieth 
glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and  knoweth 
Me,  that  I  am  the  LOKD,  which  exercise  loving 
kindness,  judgment,  and  righteousness  in  the 
earth." 

Let  us  carry  a  sense  of  the  Divine  presence 
into  all  the  walks  and  relations  of  life.  Let  the 
eye  of  faith  gaze  upon  every  aspect  of  artificial 
phenomena,  as  it  does  upon  the  changing  scenes 
of  the  vast  and  sublime  in  nature.  In  every 
distinguished  genius,  let  us  see  the  reflection  of 
fresh  rays  from  the  central  Sun  of  the  universe. 
In  every  discovery,  let  us  behold  the  dawning 
beams  of  that  Divine  light  which  is  destined  to 
illuminate  our  world.  And  while  we  mark  tfye 

13 


290  THEOLOGY    OF   INVENTIONS. 

rapid  progress  of  this  enterprising  age,  let  us 
behold  with  joy  the  majestic  shadow  of  Omni- 
potence sweeping  over  the  currents  of  time,  ad- 
justing the  most  complicated  events,  while 
restraining  the  influence  of  the  most  refractory 
agents,  and  directing  the  steps  of  the  wise  and 
the  prudent.  It  is  thus  that  the  providence  of 
God  is  found  seizing  the  elements  of  mind  and 
of  matter,  in  order  to  combine,  harmonize,  and 
reproduce  them  in  mechanical  form,  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  His  glory,  in  the  comfort  and  hap- 
piness of  man.  And  while  we  gaze  in  wonder 
at  the  works  of  nature,  and  while  we  turn  in 
amazement  at  the  marvels  of  art,  let  us  hear  the 
re-echo  of  the  voice  of  the  Eternal,  as  it  once 
came  from  the  throne  of  universal  dominion — 
""1  am  the  Lord  ;  that  is  My  name,  and  My  glory 
will  I  not  give  to  another." 

Let  those  who  mingle  with  the  scenes  and 
subjects  of  toil,  be  reminded  by  the  revolving 
machinery,  of  the  goodness  of  that  God  who 
directs  and  sustains  the  mechanism  of  the  uni- 
verse. Let  the  manifestations  of  Infinite  Wis- 
dom sweeten  the  hours  of  labor,  and  dispel 
from  the  mind  those  gloomy  clouds  of  discontent- 
ment, which  are  evidently  of  Satan's  brooding, 
and  which  ascend  as  the  poisoned  malaria  of 
envy  from  the  bottomless  pit.  The  design  of 
the  seducer  is  to  spread  a  cloud  of  gloom  ovei 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       291 

every  portion  of  human  history,  and  to  render 
the  descendents  of  Adam  dissatisfied  amidst  the 
profusion  of  Divine  beneficence,  as  their  first 
father  was  with  the  fulness  of  Paradise.  Thus, 
by  exciting  the  feelings  of  jealousy,  man  is  made 
the  enemy  of  his  fellow-man,  and  class  is  leagued 
against  class  in  the  social  fabric.  Ought  not 
those  who  are  dependent  on  the  same  bounty 
to  live  in  amity  ?  Why  should  any  aggravate 
the  trials  of  a  fellow-laborer,  or  increase  the 
sorrows  of  a  dependent  ?  Should  not  all  rather 
unite  in  the  song  of  praise  with  the  symphony 
of  nature  ?  Let  the  cords  of  mutual  sympathy 
be  drawn  closer  around  the  hearts  of  -those  who 
employ  and  those  who  labor,  that  both  may 
occupy  their  appropriate  sphere,  and  each  fulfil 
his  relative  destiny.  Let  all  look  above  the  dic- 
tates of  human  wisdom,  and  the  acts  of  human 
legislation,  to  the  administration  of  the  Moral 
Governor.  He  alone  can  open  the  channels  of 
national  or  personal  sustenance.  He  alone  can 
solve  the  hidden  problems  of  science  and  of  social 
comfort  ! 

That  there  is  approaching  a  physical,  as  well  as 
an  Ecclesiastical  and  Political,  Millennium,  the 
Bible  plainly  testifies.  Until  it  dawns  upon  the 
benighted  world,  let  faith  and  hope  oil  the  wheels 
of  industry.  Let  gratitude  for  the  gifts  bestowed 
excite  to  greater  diligence  in  personal  and  rela- 


292  THEOLOGY    OF    INVENTIONS. 

tive  duty.  The  whole  circle  of  the  sciences — 
the  entire  development  of  the  arts — the  expan- 
sion of  human  knowledge — the  progression  of 
civil  liberty — and  the  increasing  wealth  of 
nations,  have  an  immediate  bearing  upon  the 
Church  of  Christ.  And,  as  easily  as  He  obtained 
the  services  of  the  ass's  colt  upon  which  He  rode 
in  triumph  to  Jerusalem,  so  He  can  render  the 
whole  artificial  phenomena  of  the  world  subser- 
vient to  His  purposes,  when  "  the  Divine  glory 
shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it 
together."  As  the  devout  astronomer  rejoices 
in  the  discovery  of  a  new  planet,  and  hails  with 
adoring  wonder  the  approaching  silver  beams 
of  some  distant  sun,  to  us  only  a  star,  so  let  our 
philosophy  stand  upon  the  watch-tower,  with 
the  torch  of  Divine  truth  in  her  hand,  which 
will,  in  every  event  and  object,  declare  a  present 
God  ;  and  ever  and  anon,  as  new  discoveries 
burst  upon  the  mental  world,  and  original  works 
of  art  are  deposited  in  the  temples  of  industry, 
let  there  be  heard  from  within  a  voice  proclaim- 
ing their  Divine  Author,  and  let  them  find  in 
the  soul  of  the  spectator  a  spiritual  response, 
corresponding  to  the  language  of  David,  "  0  that 
men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  His  goodness, 
and  for  His  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of 
men  !"  . 

Hpw  happy  would  be  the  inmates  of  our  work- 


THEOLOGY  OF  INVENTIONS.       293 

shops  and  factories,  were  all  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and  all  impressed  with 
the  presence  of  Deity  ?  Then  would  fellow- 
laborers  provoke  each  other  to  love  and  to 
good  works.  The  language  of  faith  would  find 
embodiment  in  such  poetic  effusions  as  the 
following,  addressed  by  an  artisan  to  his  com- 
panions, during  the  elemental  strife  of  Chartism, 
which  seemed  ready  to  explode  in  a  social  revo- 
lution : — 


"  God,  my  brothers,  will  not  leave  us, 

Still  His  heaven  is  o'er  us  bent ; 
His  commandments  are  not  grievous, 

Do  His  will,  and  be  content. 
Only  truth  and  love  shall  flourish, 

In  the  end,  beloved  mates ; 
Only  charity  can  nourish 
Those  whom  charity  creates. 
,    Believe  in  God. 


"  You  have  wrongs  by  forge  and  furnace, 
You  have  darkness,  you  have  dread, 
But  you  work  in  radiant  harness, 

And  your  God  is  overhead. 
Does  not  night  bring  forth  the  morning? 

Does  not  darkness  father  light? 
Even  now  we  have  forewarning, 
Brothers,  of  the  close  of  night. 
Believe  in  God. 


1  Many,  many  are  the  shadows 
That  the  dawn  of  truth  reveals ; 

Beautiful  on  life's  broad  meadows 
Is  the  light  the  Christian  feels. 


294  THEOLOGY   OF   INTENTIONS. 

Evil  shall  give  place  to  goodness, 
Wrong  be  dispossess'd  by  right ; 

Out  of  old  chaotic  rudeness 
God  evokes  a  world  of  light 
Believe  hi  God. 

44  Do  ye  toil  ?    0,  freer,  firmer 

Ye  shall  grow  beneath  your  toil ; 
Only  craven  spirits  murmur, 
Lightly  rooted  in  the  soil. 
Through  the  gloom,  and  through  the  darkneaa, 

Through  the  danger  and  the  dole, 
Through  the  mist  and  through  the  inurkneas, 
Travels  the  great  human  soul 
Believe  in  God. 

"I  through  doubt  and  darkness  travel. 

Through  the  agony  and  gloom, 
Hoping  that  I  shall  unravel 

This  strange  web  beyond  the  tomb. 
0,  my  brothers !  men  heroic  I 

"Workers  both  with  hand  and  brain  I 
Tis  the  Christian,  not  the  Stoic, 
That  best  triumphs  over  pain. 

Believe  in  God.  • 

"O,  my  brothers!  love  and  labor, 
Conquer  wrong  by  doing  right ; 
Truth  alone  must  be  your  sabre, 

Love  alone  your  shield  in  fight 
Virtues  yet  shall  cancel  vices ; 
Look  above,  beloved  mates  I 
Only  God  Himself  suffices 

Those  whom  God  alone  creates. 
Believe  in  God." 


THE    END. 


THE  Publishers  take  pleasure  in  presenting  the 
following  note  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  KNOX,  of  the 
Collegiate  Dutch  Church,  of  this  city : 

"Having  been  favored  by  a  respected  friend  with  a  copy  of 
1  THE  THEOLOGY  OP  INVENTIONS,'  by  the  Rev.  John  Blakely, 
immediately  on  its  issue  from  the  Glasgow  press,  I  have  read 
the  larger  portion  of  it  with  great  interest  and  delight.  It  is 
the  work  of  a  master-mind.  The  subject  is  original  in  its  con- 
ception, and  is  treated  with  consummate  ability.  The  Divine 
superintendence  in  works  of  invention  is  demonstrated,  and  the 
illustration  which  they  afford,  in  their  nature,  order,  and  respec- 
tive dates,  of  the  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  of  God,  is  pre- 
sented in  a  form  the  most  compact,  lucid,  and  impressive ;  ex- 
hibiting the  Author's  large,  accurate,  and  diversified  knowledge, 
in  a  style  terse,  vigorous,  and  graceful 

"  The  work  only  requires  to  be  known,  to  obtain  the  widest 
circulation.  The  Messrs.  CARTER  confer  a  favor  on  the  reading 
community  by  its  re-publication. 

"JOHN  KN'OX. 

"Nsw  YORK,  January  21, 1856." 


• 


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